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HIROSHIMA, May 20 (PTI) President Joe Biden has vowed to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons while visiting a museum here that documents the devastation caused by the US atomic bomb during World War II in 1945.
Biden is the second sitting US president, after Barack Obama, to set foot on Hiroshima, the site of the world’s first nuclear attack.
He and other G7 leaders, including fellow nuclear powers Britain and France, made an unprecedented joint visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported on Saturday.
“May the story of this museum remind us all of our obligation to build a peaceful future,” Biden wrote in the museum’s guest book in western Japan on Friday.
“Together, let’s continue to make progress toward the day when the world is finally rid of nuclear weapons for good. Keep the faith!” he added.
The facility exhibits objects, photographs, and other materials left by victims conveying the horror of the US atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. By the end of 1945, the attack was estimated to have killed 140,000 people.
On August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki in southwestern Japan, and Japan surrendered six days later, ending World War II.
After leaving the museum, Biden made no statement at the park. He joined other G7 leaders in a ceremony to lay a wreath at a park for the victims of the atomic bomb.
Meanwhile, first lady Jill Biden wrote in the museum’s guest book: “At the G7, as we gather to continue building a peaceful and free world, this museum reminds us of our Purpose. Thank you for your warm welcome”
Obama visited Japan for the G7 summit during his 2016 visit to Hiroshima, where he spoke and met with representatives of atomic bomb survivors at the city’s Peace Memorial Park, while also briefly visiting a museum.
The Japanese government did not disclose details of the joint visit of the G7 leaders to the museum, except for an exchange with an atomic bomb survivor.
The news agency said the silence may be due to the widespread belief in the United States that the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan were necessary to quickly end World War II.
National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said earlier that Biden had no plans to apologize on behalf of the United States over the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during his visit to the city.
The visit by leaders including nuclear powers the United States, France and Britain is a long-awaited event for survivors of the atomic bomb who hope that learning about the aftermath of a nuclear attack will inject new impetus into stalled efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, the report said. nuclear weapons.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who chairs the G7 summit and represents the Hiroshima constituency, has made nuclear disarmament a key agenda item at a time when Russia’s nuclear threat in the Ukraine war and China’s nuclear threat remain high, so the risk of nuclear weapons use remains high. Very high speed to build up nuclear power.
“We felt the reality of the atomic bombing and shared a sobering moment that will be etched in our hearts,” Kishida, a lawmaker from a constituency in Hiroshima, later told reporters. “This is historic in terms of demonstrating our determination to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.”
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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