with the Evening Sun sinking over
Hiroshima and the hallowed skeletal dome
of the peace park in front of him Barack
Obama did what no sitting US president
has done before recall the annihilation
of the atom bomb in the very City it
reduced to ashes before embarking on an
emotionally charged speech mr. Obama
laid a wreath in memory of approximately
80,000 men women and children who died
when the u.s. became the first and only
country to use an atomic bomb on the 6th
of August 1945 then japan's Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe a laid a wreath in
turn mr. Abe a bod mr. Obama did not
then the two men shook hands a symbol of
the 70-year US Japan friendship that
grew from the devastation of war 71
years ago death fell from the sky and
the world was changed said mr. Obama
addressing an audience that included
hibakusha survivors of the bombing we
come to ponder a terrible force
unleashed in a not-so-distant past but
we have a shared responsibility to look
directly into the eye of history and ask
what we must do differently to curb such
suffering again the US president made
clear he was not apologizing addressing
troops at a u.s. Marine Corps Base near
Hiroshima earlier in the day the
choreography to show strength as well as
sorrow he said the visit was an
opportunity to honor the memory of all
who were lost in World War two it's a
chance to reaffirm our commitment to
pursuing the peace and security of a war
where nuclear weapons would no longer be
necessary and it's a testament to how
even the most painful divides can be
bridged how our two nations former
adversaries cannot just become partners
but become the best of friends and the
strongest of allies mr. Obama's visit is
a powerful symbol of reconciliation
between the u.s. and Japan former
enemies who have become close allies
opinion polls show an overwhelming
majority of Japanese are pleased mr.
Obama is visiting now even without an
apology after US presidents avoided the
site for 71 years the visit also
symbolizes some of the frustrated
ambitions of mr. Obama's presidency in
the seven years since his landmark
speech in Prague where he said the US
has a moral responsibility to rid the
world of atomic weapons Russia China and
others have modernized their atomic arms
Leo Lewis Financial Times Tokyo
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