Now Let Us Welcome the USA

Russia sent their representative to Hiroshima, and now the US will be represented at Nagasaki, 66 years after the dreadful event. Here's what Kyodo news reports:



U.S. to send first envoy to Nagasaki A-bomb rites
Kyodo

The U.S. will for the first time send a representative to Nagasaki's annual peace memorial ceremony Tuesday marking the 1945 atomic bombing of the city, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said Sunday.


"I am honored to be the first U.S. representative to attend the Peace Memorial in Nagasaki, and to express my respect for all the victims of World War II," Charge d'Affaires James Zumwalt said. "The United States looks forward to continuing to work with Japan to advance President (Barack) Obama's goal of realizing a world without nuclear weapons."

U.S. Ambassador John Roos, who visited Nagasaki twice last year, will not be in Japan due to "previously scheduled travel at the time of the ceremony" in Nagasaki, according to the embassy.

Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue welcomed the announcement, saying the U.S. move is "a step forward" toward creating a world without nuclear weapons.

He said he hoped Zumwalt will "pray for the people killed by the atomic bomb, speak with survivors and deepen understanding" of the lasting realities of the suffering.

Sakue Shimohira, a 76-year-old survivor, praised the decision. "For a long time we asked someone to represent (the U.S. government), but no one came until now," Shimohira said. "I respect this decision, which, I guess, needed some courage."