President Obama, on May 27, will be the first American president to visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima since the end of World War Two. In August of 1945, the city was destroyed by an atomic bomb and helped force the Japanese empire to surrender to the United States and thus ending the Pacific War. More than 140,000 were killed or vaporized and many more thousands died later from radiation sickness.The president will visit a national monument park where he will make a plea for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
In a recent national poll taken in Japan, only 2% of those polled objected to Obama’s visit especially if it didn’t include an apology for the bombing. As of now, Obama has no plans to apologize and even Japanese citizens who survived the attack are glad to see an American president visit their country apology or not.
Obama’s trip hopes to strengthen the political ties between both nations and the nuclear threat from nearby North Korea is sure to come up in upper level discussions and talks. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe does not expect to press for an apology and Obama looks to focus on the future and on cooperation between the two former enemies.
Prime Minister Abe commented that, “Japan is the only country to be hit by a nuclear weapon and we have a responsibility to make sure that terrible experience is never repeated anywhere.”
The attack happened on August 6, 1945 and when Japan didn’t surrender, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the large manufacturing city of Nagasaki. The bombing of Nagasaki killed at least another 70,000 and caused the emperor of Japan to capitulate and surrender. It is widely held that the bombings actually shortened the war and saved many potential lives. If the bombs were not dropped, American forces would have had to invade the Japanese home islands. At the time, every Japanese man, woman, and child were prepared to fight to the death. Estimates of just American deaths in such an invasion were one million dead.
The majority of the survivors are well over 80 years old and are treated to a special pension from the Japanese government. They have been waiting a long time to see an American president. Many of the survivors do not expect an apology. Many that have spoken have said they only want to see the president come to the park, lay some flowers, and bow his head in silent respect for the dead. That, they believe, will be a huge step in the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons from the planet.
PHOTO CREDIT: The Associated Press