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(From left) Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki, British Prime Minister Sunak, European Commission President von der Leyen, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Meloni, US President Biden, President of the European Council Michelle, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. , French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Scholz = 19th, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City (representative photo) |
On the 19th, U.S. President Biden visited the Peace Memorial Museum (Atomic Bomb Museum) in Hiroshima with the leaders of the G7 countries (G7) and offered prayers to the victims. A visit by the head of the only country that dropped atomic bombs. Behind the scenes, there was a last-minute offense and defense between the governments of Japan and the United States.
"The president can't do a long inspection." Earlier this year, the White House objected to the Japanese side's plan to guide the G7 leaders to the details of the museum. Burnt people, a scorched city. There was strong opposition to the president's prolonged confrontation with the graphic reality of the atomic bombing.
Even today, many Americans affirm that the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan was necessary to end the war. A 2015 poll by the Pew Research Center found that 56 percent said the drop was "justified." "Some people criticize the fact that just going to Hiroshima is synonymous with an apology," said a Japanese-American source. No president has ever apologized for the atomic bombings.
In 2016, former President Barack Obama visited Hiroshima for the first time as an incumbent. Unlike Obama, who was finishing his second term, Biden is also seeking re-election in 2024. President Sullivan, the president's national security adviser, warned ahead of the visit that there was "no chance" of the president apologizing.
According to a high-ranking Japanese government official who coordinated the deal, the United States feared that it would be used for Russian propaganda. Russia is massacring civilians in invaded Ukraine. However, if attention is focused on Hiroshima, the site of the atomic bombing, there is a risk that the United States will be the one to massacre civilians with nuclear weapons. While the White House did not shake its head, the Japanese side persisted, saying, "Prime Minister Fumio Kishida places importance on how to convey the real picture of the atomic bombing," and "We will coordinate until the morning of the day. "
As a result, Mr. Biden stayed at the museum for about 40 minutes. "It was not a bilateral visit, but a visit as one of the G7 leaders who respect history," Sullivan said. While the leaders arrived one by one, Mr. Kishida waited for about 50 minutes in the rain for Mr. Biden, who was the last to arrive. What Mr. Biden saw and felt at the museum has yet to be told.
