SHIZUOKA, Japan, Feb. 29 Kyodo - The 1954 U.S. hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific, which irradiated 23 crew members of the Japanese trawler Fukuryu Maru No. 5 from Yaizu in Shizuoka Prefecture, severely damaged the fisheries industry of the port city and caused the crew and their families to become victims of discrimination, a former teacher said Sunday.
''Fish from Yaizu were shunned after the irradiation of the Fukuryu Maru was reported, causing a plunge in marine product prices, while the crew members of the vessel and their families faced prejudice and discrimination as people believed radiation was contagious,'' Toshihiro Iizuka, 73, said.
Iizuka made the remarks at a mock trial in the city of Shizuoka, which was held to look into who was responsible for the Bikini radiation disaster ahead of its 50th anniversary Monday.
''The Fukuryu Maru was considered an 'angel of death' by Yaizu residents. Fishermen's families in the city had to pawn their clothes to live,'' said Iizuka, who had just begun teaching social sciences in the city at the time of the disaster.
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