Obama has no plan for major speech in Hiroshima: White House
Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, dismissed speculation that Obama may give an address in the western Japanese city similar to the one he delivered in Prague in 2009 in which he committed to seeking a world free of nuclear weapons.
"When he visits Hiroshima, I would anticipate the president will have an opportunity to reflect on his time there," Earnest told reporters. "But the president does not plan to deliver a major address in Hiroshima."
Obama is considering making remarks lasting several minutes or a brief statement when he visits Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, in which he will express his resolve to seek the abolition of nuclear weapons and reflect on the paths the United States and Japan have taken since the end of World War II, according to Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes and a source familiar with bilateral ties.
Earnest said details have yet to be decided about Obama's stay in Hiroshima, such as whether he will go to the Peace Memorial Museum which displays artifacts and graphic photos of the atomic-bomb victims.
"Our advance team is preparing to arrive in Japan in just a couple of days. So, we're still working through the logistics," the White House spokesman said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited the museum during his trip to Hiroshima last month and pledged to convey what he witnessed there to Obama and propose the president visit the city.
Obama will go to Hiroshima, the site of a U.S. atomic bombing in Aug. 6, 1945, on May 27 with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after attending a two-day Group of Seven summit in the city of Shima, some 400 kilometers east of Hiroshima.
After the G-7 summit, Obama will fly to the U.S. Marine Corps' Air Station Iwakuni, southwest of Hiroshima, by Air Force One and is expected to travel to Hiroshima by helicopter, according to The Washington Post and the source.
Photo: © AP Photo/ Andrew Harnik
