US Secretary John Kerry To Visit Hiroshima
According to AFP, the US Department of State announced that Secretary John Kerry will visit Hiroshima on April 10 and 11 for a meeting in advance of the G7 Summit taking place in Ise-Shima, Japan in May.
The US government has also indicated that it is considering a visit to Hiroshima by President Obama, but it is still undecided.
At the press conference at Japan National Press Club on December 17, US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy said the following in response to a question by a Japanese correspondent about whether Obama will visit Hiroshima: “President Obama is committed to achieving a world without nuclear weapons, but that she could not speculate on his visit since presidential scheduling is extremely complicated.”
The Guardian reported on April 5 that the Japanese and the US governments may decide whether Obama should visit Hiroshima after they assess how Kerry’s visit is perceived by the public.
Kerry’s visit to Hiroshima will be the second by a high ranking US official since World War II. The first was a visit in September 2008 by then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, when she came to Hiroshima to attend a meeting of legislative leaders from the G8 countries. Previously, US ambassadors to Japan have visited Hiroshima, the first in January 2004 by Howard Baker. He layed flower at the monument in the Peace Park.
In 2010, Ambassador John Roos was the first US Ambassador to attend the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, which is held annually on the day the bomb was dropped in 1945, August 6. He also participated the ceremony in 2012 and 2013. The next ambassador Kennedy attended the ceremony in 2015 and 2016. She stated “President Kennedy’s proudest achievement was nuclear test ban treaties so it has great personal meaning for me as well.Visiting Hiroshima is one of the most powerful experiences that anyone can have.”
Source:
www.afpbb.com/articles/-/3082697
www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/05/john-kerry-to-visit-hiroshima-peace-memorial
