Seventeen Japanese high-school students arrived to Hódmezővásárhely on Tuesday from the Fukushima district as part of the cultural exchange project initiated by the Hungarian town.
Hódmezővásárhely is the first city in Europe to establish local-level contacts with Japan's disaster-stricken city of Fukushima. The students were invited as part of the “Kizuna” project introduced by the Hungarian city.
Japanese use this term to express human relations and friendly ties among people; this is why the organizing committee has chosen the word for the solidarity action project's title. János Lázár the mayor of Hódmezővásárhely and leader of the parliamentary fraction of the governing FIDESZ party, said that the Kizuna project is not a relief operation, but a cultural project demonstrating the friendship between the two peoples.
"I want to show the world that despite the disaster, we try to remain positive about the future" - wrote one of Fukushima high school students, who described the earthquake and the following atomic reactor explosion as a life-changing experience. Due to the high level of radiation in the area, residents can't open their windows, despite the summer heat and even can't dry their cloths outside after washing them. Students can't go out to the school yard either because the contaminated soil is covered with protective plastic sheets.
During their stay in Hungary, the Japanese students visit the main cultural sites of Hódmezővásárhely and its region, then they learn about old local traditions at the neighboring village of Székkutas, and visit Lake Balaton, Visegrad and Esztergom as well. Next week the students will meet Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Pal Scmitt in Budapest.