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Speaker of Fijian Parliament visits Peace Memorial Park

Hears account of A-bomb survivor, expresses desire to work toward nuclear abolition

by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer

The Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Fiji made a visit to Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward on October 2. During her visit Jiko Fatafehi Luveni, 69, heard an atomic bomb survivor’s account of her experiences and gained a better understanding of the destruction caused by nuclear weapons.

Ms. Luveni toured the Peace Memorial Museum, getting explanations of the exhibits from Kenji Shiga, the facility’s director. She looked closely at a model of the city center after its destruction and at the personal possessions of students who were killed in the atomic bombing. At the International Conference Center Hiroshima, Ms. Luveni heard an account of her A-bombing experiences by Keiko Ogura. Ms. Ogura, 78, a resident of Hiroshima, gave her talk in English.

Ms. Luveni also offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. Deputy Mayor Tetsuo Murota, who served as Ms. Luveni’s guide during her visit, asked her to urge Fijian cities to join Mayors for Peace. Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui serves as president of the organization. Ms. Luveni said that she was moved by Ms. Ogura’s account of her A-bombing experiences and that she would like to cooperate with Mayors for Peace on the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Fiji was formerly a British crown colony, and Fijian soldiers were exposed to radiation as a result of nuclear tests carried out by the United Kingdom in the late 1950s. Two Fijian cities are members of Mayors for Peace. Ms. Luveni came to Japan on September 28 at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(Originally published on October 3, 2015)

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