Japanese PM considers Pearl Harbor visit

• Published May 11, 2016 3:59 PM KST
• Updated May 11, 2016 3:59 PM KST

By Lee Jin-a

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may visit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, following U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima later this month, according to Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Wednesday.

The daily said Abe was considering an option to visit Pearl Harbor on his way to Peru for the 2016 Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in November. It said the two leaders’ visits to Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor would represent “strengthened ties” between two countries.

The White House said President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima would highlight his commitment to global denuclearization and not be a sign of apology for the bombing in 1945.

“The President intends the visit to send a much more forward-looking signal for his ambition of realizing the goal of a planet without nuclear weapons,” White House press secretary John Earnest said.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise air strike on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu, killing more than 2,000 American service personnel. The attack led to the U.S. entering World War II.

The U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, killing hundred thousands. It dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, which resulted in Japan’s unconditional surrender to Allied forces on Aug. 15, 1945.