Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sets to attend the Pearl Harbor memorial event in Hawaii, making him the first prime minister to visit USS Arizona Memorial accompanied by US President Barrack Obama.
"Together with President Obama, I would like to express to the world this pledge for the future and the value of reconciliation," said Abe while vowing not to repeat the horrors of World War 2 again.
According to The White House, both Abe and Obama will showcase the power of reconciliation that has turned former adversaries into the closest of allies, united by common interests and shared values. Obama has visited Hiroshima early this year, being the first US President to visit the historic site since the 1945 bombing.
"This will be a visit to soothe the souls of the victims. We should never repeat the ravages of the war," said Abe as quoted by CNN.
Other former Japanese prime ministers who visited Pearl Harbor included Ichiro Hatoyama in 1956 and Nobusuke Kishi in 1957. But they never set feet at USS Arizona Memorial. Abe is the first prime minister to attend an event that honor sailors and Marines that were killed in the 1941 attack.
Abe arrived in Hawaii on Monday and visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific before visiting the USS Arizona Memorial.
