Speaker of Swedish parliament visits Peace Memorial Museum
May 10, 2010
by Junji Akechi, Staff Writer
On May 9, Per Westerberg, speaker of the Swedish Parliament, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and listened to an A-bomb survivor describe the horrific devastation of 65 years ago, conveying to him the inhuman nature of nuclear weapons.
Mr. Westerberg and three members of parliament made a 40-minute tour of the museum guided by Koichiro Maeda, director of the museum. They carefully viewed the museum's displays, which depict the overwhelming destruction caused by the bomb, including a model of central Hiroshima annihilated by the A-bomb and steel frames that were badly bent by the blast.
After the tour, they listened to Takashi Teramoto, 75, who was exposed to the atomic bomb at his house about one kilometer from the hypocenter. This survivor, who lives in the city of Hatsukaichi, told the lawmakers that his mother, who was with him at home at the time of the bombing, died ten days later, and that he has been plagued by terrible dreams of the things he saw when he fled for his life. Mr. Westerberg commented, "In the history of war, Hiroshima was one of the very worst incidents. This must not be repeated."
The Swedish parliamentary members arrived in Japan on May 9, invited by the House of Representatives of Japan. They will stay in Japan until May 12 and will meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the House of Councilors, and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
(Originally published on May 10, 2010)
On May 9, Per Westerberg, speaker of the Swedish Parliament, visited Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and listened to an A-bomb survivor describe the horrific devastation of 65 years ago, conveying to him the inhuman nature of nuclear weapons.
Mr. Westerberg and three members of parliament made a 40-minute tour of the museum guided by Koichiro Maeda, director of the museum. They carefully viewed the museum's displays, which depict the overwhelming destruction caused by the bomb, including a model of central Hiroshima annihilated by the A-bomb and steel frames that were badly bent by the blast.
After the tour, they listened to Takashi Teramoto, 75, who was exposed to the atomic bomb at his house about one kilometer from the hypocenter. This survivor, who lives in the city of Hatsukaichi, told the lawmakers that his mother, who was with him at home at the time of the bombing, died ten days later, and that he has been plagued by terrible dreams of the things he saw when he fled for his life. Mr. Westerberg commented, "In the history of war, Hiroshima was one of the very worst incidents. This must not be repeated."
The Swedish parliamentary members arrived in Japan on May 9, invited by the House of Representatives of Japan. They will stay in Japan until May 12 and will meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the House of Councilors, and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
(Originally published on May 10, 2010)
