The White House announced on May 10 Tuesday that President Obama would visit Hiroshima for the first time as U.S. President since 1945.
I visited Hiroshima and Nagaskai last year to meet and listened to the survivors of Atomic bombs. Hiroshi Hosokawa of Hiroshima, who was 17 years old in 1945 told me "I think the Atomic bombs were not only dropped onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but mankind. ....Everything that had existed here disappeared on August 6, 1945. As long as I live, I will continue to have my voice alive."
Hibakusha When I came to the United States, I was surprised to discover that most discussions regarding the atomic bombs were debates over the correctness of the actions by U.S. government in 1945. In Japan, stories of the atomic bomb survivors are never meant over the actions in past, but the actions for the future. Many Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) would not even want to remember what happened on August 6th and 9th, but they share their stories for the future: for us. So that it will not happen again to anyone else. I hope we can start a dialogue for future. No More Hiroshima, No More Nagasaki.
