Fatalities in Higashi-Hiroshima

A major road accident occurred in the morning of February 23 in the town of Shiwa,in Higashi-Hiroshima City. Four persons were killed or seriously injured when the car they were driving collided head on with a truck travelling in the opposite direction. Two men and a woman were killed and the third male passenger was severely injured.

The accident occurred around 9.40 am on a prefectural road in Shichijo-kabusaka, not far from the Shiwa I.C. on the Sanyo Expressway. The car in which the four persons were travelling is thought to have crossed the centre line and crashed into a truck driven by a Mr Hashimoto. The occupants, two Peruvians and two Brazilians, all of Japanese extraction, were returning home after working on the night shift.

A Question of Parking

The prefectural police recently revealed the results of a survey they had conducted into illegal parking in Hiroshima City. The police survey was conducted in December last year, with questionnaires given to 100 persons booked for parking violations. The persons were aged between 19 and 72 and the ratio of males to females was 71 to 29. Reasons given for parking illegally were many and varied. There was no car park nearby; the illegal parking was only for a short time; there was no free car park nearby, or the car park was full; other people were also parking illegally. Seventy-four drivers stated that they used a car park if their destination was less than 100 metres away. The police were hoping that drivers would realise the dangers of illegal parking and also the inconvenience caused to others. They planned to apply the law more rigorously and impress upon companies the importance of ‘parking morality’ among their employees.

The Ambassador Visits

On February 22, Mr Thomas Foley, the American Ambassador to Japan, visited Hiroshima City. Mr Foley was taking part in an economics seminar, but found time to visit the Peace Memorial Park and Museum and to have discussions with the Governor of Hiroshima, Mr Yuzan Fujita.

Mr Foley spent about one hour looking round the Peace Museum, with explanations being given by Mayor Akiba. He then laid a wreath at the memorial cenotaph to A-bomb victims. Mr Foley, who is the third American ambassador to visit Hiroshima, after Mr Michael Mansfield and Mr Michael Armacost, then went to the Prefectural Office. Topics discussed with Governor Fujita included the problem of low flying military aircraft in the north of the prefecture and the need for US President Clinton to visit Hiroshima.

東広島での事故死者

２月23日の朝、東広島市志和町で大きな交通事故が起きた。４人が乗った乗用車が対向してきたトラックと正面衝突し、４人とも死傷。男性２人と女性１人が死亡した。乗用車に乗っていた残る男性１人は、重傷を負った。

　事故は午前９時40分ごろ、山陽自動車道の志和インターチェンジ近くの七条椛坂の県道で起きた。４人の乗った乗用車はセンターラインを越えて、橋本さんの運転するトラックに突っ込んだ。乗っていたのは、全員日系のペルシア人２人とブラジル人２人で、夜勤から帰宅途中だった。

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駐車についての質問

県警は先日、広島市内で違法駐車の指導をした人たちに実施した調査結果を公表した。調査は昨年12月、駐車違反で切符を切った100人に行った。対象となったのは、19から72歳までで、男女の割合は、男性が71人、女性29人だった。違法に駐車した理由は、様々だった。「近くに車を止めるスペースがなかったから」「ちょっとの時間だから」「近くに無料駐車場がなかったから」それに「駐車場が満車だった」「他人も駐車していたから」。74人が目的地から100メートル以内なら駐車場を利用すると答えた。警察は運転者が、違法駐車の危険性と、他者へもたらす不便さを認識してほしいと期待している。そして取り締まりをいっそう厳しくし、雇用者の駐車モラルの向上を企業に呼び掛ける。

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大使の訪問

２月22日、米国のトーマス・フォーリー駐日大使が広島市を訪れた。フォーリー大使は経済セミナーで講演したほか、平和記念公園と原爆資料館を見学し、藤田雄山県知事と会談した。

　フォーリー氏は、約一時間かけて秋葉市長の案内で原爆資料館を回った。そして被爆者を追悼し、原爆慰霊碑に花輪を捧げた。フォーリー氏はマイケル・マンスフィールド氏とマイケル・アマコスト氏に続き広島を訪問した３番目の大使となった。その後、県庁を訪れ、藤田知事と、県北での米軍機の低空飛行訓練問題やクリントン米大統領の広島訪問の必要性などについて話し合った。