Belgium’s Lower House Speaker visits Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and calls nuclear weapons “terrible violence”
Mar. 3, 2017
by Kanako Noda, Staff Writer
On March 2, Siegfried Bracke, 64, president of the House of Representatives, Kingdom of Belgium, visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the first time. Touring the Peace Memorial Museum, he said that nuclear weapons should be abolished so that the tragedy they cause will not be repeated.
A group of 14 representatives from Belgium, including Mr. Bracke, were guided through the museum by Yasuyoshi Komizo, the chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. Nodding their heads, they listened to explanations about a panoramic model that depicts the devastation of the city center after the atomic bombing and A-bomb artifacts including a charred tricycle. After visiting the museum, Mr. Bracke told the media that “terrible violence” had been inflicted on innocent civilians and that the member states of the European Union and Japan should continue close partnerships to maintain peace.
At the International Conference Center Hiroshima in the Peace Memorial Park, the visitors listened with keen interest to Keiko Ogura, 79, an A-bomb survivor and resident of Naka Ward, recount her experience in English. She experienced the atomic bombing near her home, about 2.4 kilometers from the hypocenter when she was eight years old. After that, Mr. Bracke offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.
The group from Belgium arrived in Japan on February 26, invited by the Diet’s Lower House. On this day, they also visited Elisabeth University of Music, located in Naka Ward, which was founded by Father Ernest Goossense, a native of Belgium. They listened to choral singing by students and piano and violin pieces played by teachers.
(Originally published on March 3, 2017)
On March 2, Siegfried Bracke, 64, president of the House of Representatives, Kingdom of Belgium, visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the first time. Touring the Peace Memorial Museum, he said that nuclear weapons should be abolished so that the tragedy they cause will not be repeated.
A group of 14 representatives from Belgium, including Mr. Bracke, were guided through the museum by Yasuyoshi Komizo, the chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. Nodding their heads, they listened to explanations about a panoramic model that depicts the devastation of the city center after the atomic bombing and A-bomb artifacts including a charred tricycle. After visiting the museum, Mr. Bracke told the media that “terrible violence” had been inflicted on innocent civilians and that the member states of the European Union and Japan should continue close partnerships to maintain peace.
At the International Conference Center Hiroshima in the Peace Memorial Park, the visitors listened with keen interest to Keiko Ogura, 79, an A-bomb survivor and resident of Naka Ward, recount her experience in English. She experienced the atomic bombing near her home, about 2.4 kilometers from the hypocenter when she was eight years old. After that, Mr. Bracke offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims.
The group from Belgium arrived in Japan on February 26, invited by the Diet’s Lower House. On this day, they also visited Elisabeth University of Music, located in Naka Ward, which was founded by Father Ernest Goossense, a native of Belgium. They listened to choral singing by students and piano and violin pieces played by teachers.
(Originally published on March 3, 2017)
