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New A-bomb survivors group to be formed in Fukuyama in April: Child of survivor to serve as president

by Kana Kobayashi, Staff Writer

With the dissolution of the Fukuyama Atomic Bomb Survivors Association set for the end of March, about 40 survivors, children of survivors and family members of victims are preparing to form a new organization it was learned on March 25. The child of an A-bomb survivor is to serve as president. According to the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations chaired by Sunao Tsuboi, it will be the first time for the child of a survivor to serve as president of a survivors’ group in Hiroshima Prefecture.

The new group’s inaugural meeting is slated to be held April 4 in Fukuyama. Satoru Fujii, 68, a former professor at Fukuyama Heisei University and the son of an atomic bomb survivor, is expected to be named president. The majority of the organization’s members will be A-bomb survivors and family members of victims, but the group will be run primarily by the children of survivors.

Including children of survivors and family members of victims, there are about 500 members in the survivors’ association that will be dissolved. In light of the aging of the group’s board, at a special board meeting in February it was decided to bring the group’s activities to an end. Many members, however, opposed the move to dissolve the group and sought to keep it going. Those who favored this position decided to form a new organization to be run primarily by children of A-bomb survivors, who will serve as board members.

The question of how to carry on the activities of A-bomb survivors’ groups has become an issue in other cities and towns as well. “I would like to work with other groups to ensure that the stories of the experiences of survivors are passed on and keep the organization going,” Mr. Fujii said.

(Originally published on March 26, 2015)

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