Italian President Lays Flowers at Hiroshima Peace Park

   Hiroshima, March 8 (Jiji Press)--Italian President Sergio Mattarella made his first visit to Hiroshima on Saturday, laying flowers before the cenotaph for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing in the western Japan city's Peace Memorial Park.
   The president observed a moment of silent in front of the cenotaph and then toured the park, accompanied by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui. He also signed an entry at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum within the park.
   Later in the day, Mattarella met with people including Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki and Toshiyuki Mimaki, 82, co-chair of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, also known as Nihon Hidankyo, which won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
   The president congratulated Mimaki and others on the group's Nobel win and praised its activities as always ringing a stern alarm bell for humanity, adding that he strongly believes nuclear weapons must never be used again.
   "I realized that (the president) has the same idea (about nuclear disarmament) with us," Mimaki told reporters after the meeting. "We would like him to continue to work (for nuclear disarmament)."

(2025/03/08-22:27)

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