Obama to reflect on suffering of war
Print Edition
PRESIDENT Barack Obama said yesterday that he plans to use his historic visit to Hiroshima with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reflect on the suffering of war and the need to take steps to prevent it. Abe said he had no plans to reciprocate Obama’s gesture by paying his own visit to Pearl Harbor.
Obama’s opened his trip to Japan with much intrigue about his upcoming stop in the city where the US dropped the first atomic bomb. But that first visit by a sitting American president was caught up in the controversy in Japan over the recent arrest of a former Marine in connection with the murder of a Japanese woman in Okinawa.
Abe ripped into Obama while demanding US steps to prevent further incidents. Obama told Abe that the US would support having the suspect prosecuted through Japan’s legal system.
Obama’s comments on Hiroshima after meeting with Abe offered a preview of the approach he will try to take at the site of the US attack on August 6, 1945, that killed 140,000 people.
The White House has ruled out an apology by the president for the atomic bombing, but the visit is being viewed by Japanese citizens as a conciliatory gesture.
“One of the things I hope to reflect on when I’m at Hiroshima and certainly something I reflected on when I was in Vietnam was just a reminder that war involves suffering,” Obama said after arriving from Vietnam. “We should always do what we can to prevent it.”
But he added: “It’s important for us to act on occasion in order to make sure that the American people are protected.”
Abe said he “wholeheartedly” welcomed Obama’s decision, adding that he was convinced the joint visit would create strong momentum toward global denuclearization.
At the same time, Abe said he had “no specific plans” to visit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. There have been calls for such a trip as a sign of Japan’s acknowledgement of its wartime actions.
The surprise attack by the Japanese military on December 7, 1941, killed more than 2,400 people, wounded scores and led the US into World War II.
Raw emotions over the US military presence in Okinawa were on display on Obama’s first day in Japan, stoked by the arrest of Kenneth Shinzato, 32, after the body of a 20-year-old woman was found at a location he provided in a forest in central Okinawa. The murder has triggered national outrage, potentially complicating the long-delayed relocation of Marine Air Station Futenma.
Acknowledging his own “profound resentment,” Abe called it an “absolutely despicable crime” committed by a “self-centered” offender. He said he told Obama that the feelings of the Japanese people must be sincerely taken to heart.
“I am just speechless,” Abe said through a translator.
Abe called on the American people to take rigorous and strict steps to prevent another incident in the future.
Obama was contrite. “I extended my sincerest condolences and deepest regrets,” the president said.
The incident has rekindled long-running opposition from many Okinawa residents who want the US base off the island. Abe suggested Japan would continue looking for ways to resolve issues that come up under the agreement that allows Washington to stage troops there.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
