Obama makes history with Hiroshima visit
HIROSHIMA: Barack Obama paid moving tribute to victims of the first atomic bomb Friday and called for a world free of nuclear weapons, during a historic and emotional visit to Hiroshima.
In a ceremony loaded with symbolism, the first sitting US president to visit the city met survivors of the fearsome attack that marked one of the final, terrifying chapters of World War II.
“71 years ago, death fell from the sky and the world was changed,” Obama said of a bomb that “demonstrated that mankind possessed the means to destroy itself."
“Why did we come to this place, to Hiroshima? We come to ponder a terrible force unleashed in the not-so-distant past. We come to mourn the dead,” he said.
As crows called through the hush of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Obama offered a floral wreath at the cenotaph, pausing in momentary contemplation with his eyes closed and his head lowered.
The site lies in the shadow of a domed building, whose skeleton stands in silent testament to those who perished.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe followed by offering his own wreath and a brief, silent bow.
After both men had spoken, Obama, whose predecessor Harry Truman gave the go-ahead for the world's first nuclear strike, greeted ageing survivors, embracing 79-year-old Shigeaki Mori, who appeared overcome with emotion.