REMEMBRANCE

Kerry Makes Historic Hiroshima Visit

Becomes most senior U.S. official to visit memorial.

Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday became the most senior U.S. official to visit Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park and Museum in Japan. Kerry, in Hiroshima for the G-7 foreign ministers meeting, visited the site more than 70 years after the world’s first atomic bombing killed around 140,000 Japanese. The secretary of State did not offer an apology, but wrote in the guest book, “It is a… harsh, compelling reminder not only of our obligation to end the threat of nuclear weapons, but to rededicate all of our efforts to avoid war itself. War must be the last resort—never the first choice.” Until Kerry’s visit, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi was the most senior U.S. official to visit the site—in 2008. President Obama is reportedly considering a visit when he is in Japan for a G-7 Summit in May.