‘The Power of Reconciliation:’ President Obama Will Make Historic, Symbolic Visit to Pearl Harbor with Japan’s Prime Minister
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Pearl Harbor with President Barack Obama later this month, becoming the first sitting Japanese leader to visit the site of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack that killed more than 2,300 people and drew America into World War II.
Abe announced the historic trip on Monday, telling reporters: “This will be a visit to console the souls of the victims. I would like to show to the world the resolve that horrors of war should never be repeated.”
“Our talks in Hawaii will be a chance to show the rest of the world our ever-stronger alliance in the future,” he added of his meeting with Obama.
The White House confirmed that Obama will meet with Abe in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Dec. 27, shortly after the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Together, the two leaders will travel to the U.S. naval base to honor the thousands who were killed at the site.
“The meeting will be an opportunity for the two leaders to review our joint efforts over the past four years to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance, including our close cooperation on a number of security, economic, and global challenges,” the White House said in a statement. “The President will also accompany Prime Minister Abe to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor to honor those killed. The two leaders’ visit will showcase the power of reconciliation that has turned former adversaries into the closest of allies, united by common interests and shared values.”
The visit will come seven months after Obama traveled to the Japanese city of Hiroshima, where the U.S. dropped a nuclear bomb in 1945. The president did not apologize for the bombing during his visit, instead using it as an opportunity to reflect on the tragedies and human toll of war. When Obama visited the Hiroshima Peace Park, he wrote in the guest book, “We have known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.”
RELATED VIDEO: President Obama & First Lady Michelle Obama Attend Kennedy Center Honors Gala for the Final Time
Experts who spoke with The Wall Street Journal and Reuters predict Abe will follow Obama’s model in Hiroshima when he visits Pearl Harbor.
“ won’t go as far as to apologize, but there will be a demonstration of contrition,” Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University’s Japan campus, tells Reuters. “Obama has shown the way forward in addressing the past without whitewashing and denying.”
