A-bomb survivors call for world without war as Abe to visit Pearl Harbor

HIROSHIMA -- Atomic bomb survivors, or "hibakusha," here have expressed hope that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's planned visit to Pearl Harbor later this month will pave the way for the creation of a world without wars.

Abe announced on Dec. 5 that he will visit Pearl Harbor on Dec. 26-27 with U.S. President Barack Obama and honor victims of Japan's surprise attack that triggered the outbreak of the Pacific War.

Obama went to Hiroshima in May this year, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the world's first atomic bombing. Sunao Tsuboi, 91-year-old director of a Hiroshima group representing hibakusha welcomed Abe's planned visit, saying, "The Pacific War started with the attack on Pearl Harbor. When it comes to holding memorial services for lives lost in wars, it doesn't matter which country is organizing the event." He added, "The very thinking to eliminate war is important. I want Prime Minister Abe to visit there with all his heart."

When Obama visited Hiroshima, Tsuboi shook hands with the president in front of the cenotaph for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. After meeting with Obama, Tsuboi said, "I think we have understood each other."

Tsuboi visited Pearl Harbor in 1997 and offered flowers to the ocean where the USS Arizona remains submerged. "People in Hawaii welcomed me as a visitor who is supposed to hate America," Tsuboi recalled. He added, "The prime minister's visit, 71 years after the end of the war, is too late."

Meanwhile, Tomoyuki Mimaki, 74-year-old deputy director of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organization, said, "It is good news. I was thinking that the prime minister should go there particularly because this year marks 75 years after the attack on Pearl Harbor. I hope Prime Minister Abe, keeping in mind that Japan started the war, will visit there and get the sense that 'war must never be waged again.'"

Shigeaki Mori, a 79-year-old historian who conducted research into Allied prisoners of war who died after being exposed to radiation from A-bombs, said, "All I can say is that it's wonderful," on Abe's announcement. Mori is the hibakusha who hugged President Obama during his May visit to Hiroshima.

Hiroshima High School student Tsugumi Inoue, 16, who asked Japanese lawmakers to visit Pearl Harbor at a peace event to mark the 71st war-end anniversary on Aug. 15 this year, commented, "I think President Obama's gestures have spread to Japan."

Inoue visited Pearl Harbor for the first time in early August this year. After hearing a story from a man who said he witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor, Inoue said she vividly felt the horrors experienced by victims.

"I want Prime Minister Abe to give a future-oriented talk aimed at ensuring peace," she added.