US attends Hiroshima ceremony after 65 years, still no apology

U.S. Ambassador John Roos was present at the ceremony to join the Japanese in remembering over 100,000 of their countrymen, who lost their lives in the ghastly bombing that marked the end of World War II.

Reps from US, France, Britain visit Hiroshima for the first time
Roos, the top U.S. diplomat in Japan, was accompanied by Ban Ki-moon, the first UN Secretary-General to attend the event. British and French representatives also joined them in Hiroshima for the first time.

“As long as nuclear weapons exist, we will live under a nuclear shadow,” Ban said at the ceremony. “We made important progress at the nuclear summit in Washington D.C. last April. We must keep up this momentum.”

Prior to this, the US has always declined the offer to attend the annual ceremony. This time, however, they joined delegates from over 70 other countries to remember the victims of the bombings in Japan, as Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for the world to “accept the Japanese people's hope that nuclear destruction never takes place again.”

The only way to ensure that nuclear weapons will never again be used is to eliminate them all -- Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General

Kan said that since Japan is the only country to face the disasters of atomic bombings, they have “a moral responsibility to lead actions toward realizing a world without nuclear weapons.”

No apology from the US
Roos, however, made no mention of the past in his faxed statement. He only stressed on the importance of a nuclear-free world for the future generations.

Though it was a progressive step, the Japanese were disappointed that the US representative did not address the public directly. Even by way of a press release, there was no apology that they had been expecting.

After effects
People in Japan are still dealing with radiation after effects. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on Friday saw the addition of 5,501 new names (recently confirmed to have died of radiation after effects) to the dead list, which now stands at 269,446 people.

Hiroshima’s atomic bomb survivors, known as hibakusha, complained that the US ambassador did not even care to meet with them, express regret for the bombing, or even offer a floral tribute.

What took them 65 years?
Some citizens were questioning the absence of President Obama, who has been making efforts to achieve a nuclear free world. Last year in April, the US President won commitments from 46 nations to lock down nuclear material and to ensure it does not get into wrong hands.

Some also wanted to know what took them 65 years to come to Japan.

Ban Ki-moon also went to Nagasaki, marking the first visit by a secretary-general to the cities. “The only way to ensure that nuclear weapons will never again be used is to eliminate them all,” he said.