Tony London
After Tony London was invited to go on an economic development trip to Japan, the Bartholomew County commissioner couldn’t help but show his excitement that the city of Hiroshima would be among his first stops.
However, the Columbus business owner also expressed a bit of apprehension about finding himself an American in a city destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb 79 years ago.
His remarks came while he was making history by using Zoom video conferencing to fully participate in the weekly commissioners’ meeting while in Japan.
London said he was initially worried about receiving a cold reception in Hiroshima.
After talking about some travel challenges, London spoke candidly about meeting an English-speaking elementary school teacher named Remi.
Saying that he wanted to dig a little deeper, the commissioner said he asked Remi, who was born and raised in Hiroshima, how the explosion so long ago had affected her life.
“Her answer just about floored me,” London said.
The commissioner said the teacher told him that when the bomb dropped, her grandmother was seven months pregnant with Remi’s father. The grandmother had left the city to be admitted to a hospital about an hour’s drive from Hiroshima because her pregnancy was making her unusually sick, he said.
“When the bomb dropped, every single one of (the grandmother’s) family members was annihilated,” London said. “I was just stunned by that. The only reason why Remi was here was because her grandmother happened to leave the city that day.”
London said that led him to ask Remi why she doesn’t hate Americans.
“She said ‘we have no hate’,” London said. “As a matter of fact, she said we love Americans. She also hopes to come to America one day.”
London admitted he didn’t know if he would have had the same reaction if his grandmother had the experience of discovering her entire family had been killed.
“This trip has already affected me,” London said. “To be able to talk to someone who experienced that was just so incredibly eye-opening and heart-opening.
If all goes as planned, London and Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp. President Jason Hester are expected to return to Indiana Sunday.
