Abe's Visit To Pearl Harbor

Above, the USS Arizona Memorial last May. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Some say that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not go far enough in his remarks at Pearl Harbor. While Abe offered condolences, he did not apologize.

Still, it was good that he did visit Pearl Harbor.

Reuters wrote:

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a symbolic visit to Pearl Harbor with President Barack Obama on Tuesday, commemorating the victims of Japan's World War Two attack and promising that his country would never wage war again. 

The visit, just weeks before Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office, was meant to highlight the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance amid concerns that Trump could forge a more complicated relationship with Tokyo. 

"I offer my sincere and everlasting condolences to the souls of those who lost their lives here, as well as to the spirits of all the brave men and women whose lives were taken by a war that commenced in this very place," Abe said. 

"We must never repeat the horrors of war again. This is the solemn vow we, the people of Japan, have taken." 

Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor with torpedo planes, bombers and fighter planes on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, pounding the U.S. fleet moored there in the hope of destroying U.S. power in the Pacific.

The Reuters report on Abe's visit includes a video of his remarks along with a slide show of photos of his visit.

The photo above was taken last May during my visit to the USS Arizona Memorial. It was at the railing where President Obama and Prime Minister Abe dropped flower petals into the water.

A visit to Hawaii would not be complete without a visit to Pearl Harbor. I highly recommend it.

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