Focus on friendly ties at Hiroshima
Print Edition
US President Barack Obama said yesterday that his visit to Hiroshima, the first city to suffer an atomic bombing, would emphasize friendly ties between former enemies, and reiterated he would not apologize for the devastating attack.
Obama will become the first sitting US president to tour the site of the world’s first nuclear bombing on Friday, accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
In an interview with Japanese national broadcaster NHK, Obama said the reality is that leaders often have to make hard choices during times of conflict and no apologies would be included in brief remarks he is expected to make in the Japanese city.
“It’s important to recognize that in the midst of war, leaders make all kinds of decisions, it’s the job of historians to ask questions and examine them,” Obama said. “But I know, as somebody who’s now sat in this position for the last seven and half years, that every leader makes very difficult decisions, particularly during wartime.”
The bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killed thousands instantly and about 140,000 by the end of the year. Nagasaki was hit on August 9 and Japan surrendered six days later.
A majority of Americans see the bombings as having been necessary to end the war and save US and Japanese lives. Most Japanese believe they were unjustified.
Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 partly for his stance on nuclear non-proliferation, added that he felt emphasis needed to be placed on the current relationship between Washington, one of Japan’s key allies, and Tokyo.
“I think it is also a happy story about how former adversaries came together to become one of the closest partnerships and closest allies in the world,” he said.
Critics argue that by not apologizing, Obama will allow Japan to stick to the narrative that paints it as a victim.
The Abe administration has affirmed past government apologies for Japanese actions during the war, but asserts that future generations should not have to apologize for the actions of their forebears.
Obama said the visit will be a time to reflect on the harsh toll that war takes at any time.
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