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联系方式 Obama announces historic trip to Hiroshima
Even in the waning days of his second term in office, President Barack Obama is making history.
Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, Japan, in late May, the White House confirmed on Tuesday.
The symbolic visit to the site of the U.S. nuclear attack in 1945 is meant to "highlight his continued commitment to pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," according to a statement released by the White House.
Nearly 140,000 people, the majority of whom were civilians, died after the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city. Around half were killed in the initial blast and the rest died within the year due to radiation.
Some hoped that Obama would touch on the complicated legacy of the U.S. decision to drop the bomb, which some say sped up the end of WWII but left a shattered city in its wake.
Scores of survivors battled long-term illness and disability from the radiation, including rare cancers and birth defects. Just days after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the U.S. attacked the city of Nagasaki with another atomic weapon, killing 74,000 people.
White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said Obama does not plan to "revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II." Rhodes wrote in a Medium post that Obama will instead "honor the memory of all innocents who were lost during the war."
Relatives of the victims of the Atomic Bomb offer flowers at Hiroshima Memorial Cenotaph during the ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 2015Credit: AP/The Yomiuri Shimbun"To be sure, the United States will be eternally proud of our civilian leaders and the men and women of our armed forces who served in World War II for their sacrifice at a time of maximum peril to our country and our world," wrote Rhodes. "Their cause was just, and we owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude, which the President will again commemorate shortly after the visit on Memorial Day."
"The President and his team will make this visit knowing that the open recognition of history is essential to understanding our shared past."
The visit will instead focus on preventing nuclear proliferation and attempt to pave the way for a world free of nuclear threats, according to the White House.
"The President and his team will make this visit knowing that the open recognition of history is essential to understanding our shared past, the forces that shape the world we live in today, and the future that we seek for our children and grandchildren," wrote Rhodes.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State John Kerry visited the site and at the time became the most senior official in the U.S. government to do so.
During Obama's visit to Japan he will also take part in his final G-7 Summit and meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss economic and security issues.
The President will travel to Vietnam and Japan from May 21 to 28 on what will be his tenth trip to Asia during his eight years in office.
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