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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry makes unexpected visit to A-bomb Dome, is moved by A-bomb damage

John Kerry, the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Hiroshima, took an unexpected walk over to the A-bomb Dome, the hypocenter area of the atomic bomb, during his time in the city. In memory of the scores of A-bomb victims, the people of Hiroshima have long appealed for the tragedy never to be repeated. To what degree have their voices been heard by Mr. Kerry?

Around noon on April 11, citizens and tourists in the vicinity of the A-bomb Dome in the Peace Memorial Park, were suddenly instructed by police to leave the area. This abrupt request came after the eight foreign ministers took commemorative photos in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims and then unexpectedly began walking over to the dome, which was located in the opposite direction of the line of cars waiting to transport them.

In front of the cenotaph, Mr. Kerry had made the suggestion to Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida that they walk over to the dome. Yasuyoshi Komizo, the chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, accompanied them and took the unexpected change in schedule as the work of Mr. Kerry’s conscience. “On the way to and from the A-bomb Dome, Mr. Kerry told us that everyone should come to Hiroshima,” Mr. Komizo said. “He clearly showed his sympathies.”

Some onlookers, though, cast a cooler eye on the proceedings. Masaaki Murakami, 23, a resident of Nishi Ward and a volunteer guide who was forced to leave the A-bomb Dome area, complained, “Even if these important people visit the A-bomb Dome, while making other people leave in the process, I don’t know how they can really understand the true damage caused by the atomic bombing.”

While the group toured the Peace Memorial Museum before heading to the dome, there was no opportunity for A-bomb survivors to share their experiences with the visitors. Meanwhile, Kenji Shiga, the director of the museum, reflected on their impressions of the A-bomb artifacts during the tour he guided. He said, “The foreign ministers studied the artifacts intently, one by one, which was one of the most impressive scenes I have witnessed since I began serving as director three years ago.” The group mainly spent time in the museum’s main building, where personal effects of mobilized students killed in the blast and photos of Hiroshima in the aftermath of the bombing are on display. The tour, originally expected to last 30 minutes, stretched to 50 minutes.

At a press conference, Mr. Kerry said, “It is a stunning display. It is a gut-wrenching display.” He was referring to an exhibit called “White Panorama,” which will be installed in the East Building of the museum after the ongoing renovation is complete. For this display, images of Hiroshima, which were created from aerial photos taken before and after the atomic bombing, are projected onto a panoramic model of the city center and show how the city was instantly destroyed. Mr. Kerry described the scene as an “incredible inferno.” The panorama, though, is composed of computer graphics, mainly making use of images captured by the bomber itself. One Hiroshima City official said that Mr. Kerry may have intentionally avoided commenting on the personal effects of the A-bomb victims, since these articles are evidence that the American bomb claimed the lives of so many, both young and old, both male and female.

Mr. Kerry stayed in Hiroshima after the press conference, and had dinner with Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, at a Japanese restaurant in Naka Ward. Hiroshi Harada, 76, an A-bomb survivor and resident of Asaminami Ward, is also a former director of the Peace Memorial Museum. He said, “If Mr. Kerry had listened to the accounts of the survivors, he would be even more shocked at the damage done by the atomic bombing. I think the Foreign Ministry and the City of Hiroshima should have made a stronger appeal to make time for sharing an A-bomb account during their visit here.”

(Originally published on April 12, 2016)

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