U.S. Ambassador Roos leaves Hiroshima without speaking to survivors
Aug. 9, 2010
by Toshiko Bajo and Aya Kano, Staff writers
John Roos, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, attended the Peace Memorial Ceremony as the first-ever representative of the nation that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. After the ceremony, which lasted about one hour, Mr. Roos quickly left the venue without meeting with A-bomb survivors.
Ambassador Roos arrived 30 minutes before the ceremony began. Smiling, he shook hands with Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba then sat down in the middle of the seats for invited guests, a section reserved for the representatives of many nations and separated from the public.
Once the ceremony began, his expression turned grim. At 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, he stood tall and made a silent prayer. During the ceremony, sometimes wiping perspiration from his forehead, he gazed straight ahead and listened to the Peace Declaration by Mayor Akiba and other addresses.
After the ceremony, Mr. Roos boarded a car under tight security and left the site.
The first presence by a U.S. government representative was met with mixed reactions from survivors and others in attendance. Noboru Yamasaki, an 81-year-old resident of Saeki Ward, was exposed to the atomic bomb while working as a mobilized student. He said he sensed hope, commenting, "It feels like a thaw in the movement toward the elimination of nuclear weapons."
Emiko Watanabe, 80, a resident of the town of Toyono, Osaka, lost her elder sister in the atomic bombing. Ms. Watanabe said, "My sorrow hasn't gone. I wish the United States had sent a representative earlier and offered a word of comfort."
Ambassador Roos visited Hiroshima in October 2009 with his family, shortly after assuming his post. He offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and toured Peace Memorial Museum at that time. He said then that he would like to convey his experience in Hiroshima to President Barack Obama.
Koichiro Maeda, director of the museum, guided the ambassador when he visited the museum last year. Mr. Maeda recalls the care Mr. Roos took when viewing the exhibits and reading the explanations. "It is of great significance," he said, "that the nuclear weapon states, including the United States, have attended the ceremony to pray for peace."
(Originally published on August 7, 2010)
John Roos, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, attended the Peace Memorial Ceremony as the first-ever representative of the nation that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. After the ceremony, which lasted about one hour, Mr. Roos quickly left the venue without meeting with A-bomb survivors.
Ambassador Roos arrived 30 minutes before the ceremony began. Smiling, he shook hands with Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba then sat down in the middle of the seats for invited guests, a section reserved for the representatives of many nations and separated from the public.
Once the ceremony began, his expression turned grim. At 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, he stood tall and made a silent prayer. During the ceremony, sometimes wiping perspiration from his forehead, he gazed straight ahead and listened to the Peace Declaration by Mayor Akiba and other addresses.
After the ceremony, Mr. Roos boarded a car under tight security and left the site.
The first presence by a U.S. government representative was met with mixed reactions from survivors and others in attendance. Noboru Yamasaki, an 81-year-old resident of Saeki Ward, was exposed to the atomic bomb while working as a mobilized student. He said he sensed hope, commenting, "It feels like a thaw in the movement toward the elimination of nuclear weapons."
Emiko Watanabe, 80, a resident of the town of Toyono, Osaka, lost her elder sister in the atomic bombing. Ms. Watanabe said, "My sorrow hasn't gone. I wish the United States had sent a representative earlier and offered a word of comfort."
Ambassador Roos visited Hiroshima in October 2009 with his family, shortly after assuming his post. He offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and toured Peace Memorial Museum at that time. He said then that he would like to convey his experience in Hiroshima to President Barack Obama.
Koichiro Maeda, director of the museum, guided the ambassador when he visited the museum last year. Mr. Maeda recalls the care Mr. Roos took when viewing the exhibits and reading the explanations. "It is of great significance," he said, "that the nuclear weapon states, including the United States, have attended the ceremony to pray for peace."
(Originally published on August 7, 2010)
