Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to take this opportunity to remember the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on 11 March last year, killing around 19,000 people and creating a nuclear emergency and ongoing radiation problems at Fukushima and surrounding areas. Many towns and facilities have yet to be rebuilt and many thousands of Japanese people remain displaced and unemployed. It is therefore right that Australia, and especially Western Australia, which has a history of exchange and cooperation with Japan stretching back more than a hundred years, do what we can to assist in the rebuilding effort.

After the tsunami, my Japanese friend Aki sent his wife, Hideko, and young son, Eijyu, to stay with my family, including my Japanese-speaking sister and her husband, and with other friends, in Perth for a month, and he joined them for a week during that time. Upon leaving, Aki and Hideko conveyed to us their fear of what they were returning to as well as their determination to be part of the rebuilding of Japan. Quiet determination, courage and resilience have been a feature of the Japanese response to this tragedy. At the time of this sad anniversary, our thoughts are with Australia's longstanding friends, the people of Japan.

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