Obama to Visit Hiroshima, No Apology!

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama's decision to visit the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima was received by welcome away from any demand of apology. Even those who want one realize that such a demand would have ruled out a US presidential visit.

"Of course everyone wants to hear an apology. Our families were killed," said Hiroshi Shimizu, general secretary of the Hiroshima Confederation of A-Bomb Sufferers Organizations. "However, by setting conditions we limit world leaders from visiting, so we decided to eliminate that," he said in Tokyo. "We would first like for them to come and stand on the grounds of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and take a good look at what is in front of them and give it good thought."

The American and Japanese governments announced Tuesday that Obama would become the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima, a city almost entirely destroyed by a US atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945. Some 140,000 people were killed, and others have endured aftereffects to this day.

The US dropped a second devastating atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki three days later. Japan announced it would surrender on Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II.

Obama will visit Hiroshima with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on May 27, after attending the annual Group of Seven summit in Japan.

"I don't live in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, but I am overcome with emotion when I think that someone who wants to offer understanding is finally about to arrive," said Mieko Mori, a 74-year-old woman who stopped at a memorial in Tokyo to pray for the victims.

A poll released this week by national broadcaster NHK found that 70 percent of Japanese want Obama to visit Hiroshima, and only 2 percent were opposed.

The visit is contentious in the US, where many believe the atomic bombs hastened the end of the war, saving countless other lives. The White House went out of its way to stress Obama will not apologize.

Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Obama would "not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb," and instead spotlight the toll of war and offer a forward-looking vision of a non-nuclear world.

"We should just accept his visit as a gesture of sincerity," he said. "It's OK as long as he makes clear his commitment never to use atomic weapons. ... I hope he will learn what happened and feel a little bit of it himself while being there."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team