Japan's First Lady Visits Pearl Harbor
Fakhir Rizvi Published August 22, 2016 | 03:07 PM
TOKYO, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -22nd Augst,2016) - The wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has visited Pearl Harbor, bombed by Japanese planes nearly 75 years ago in an attack that brought the United States into World War II. It was not clear exactly when Akie Abe made the visit.
But she posted 11 pictures on her official Facebook page, apparently early Monday. "I offered flowers and my prayers at the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor," she wrote. Her visit to the Hawaii memorial came just months after President Barack Obama journeyed to Hiroshima, the Japanese city where a US plane dropped the world's first atom bomb in the closing days of World War II. Obama's trip to Hiroshima sparked speculation that Shinzo Abe could visit Pearl Harbor in response. But top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga on Monday denied that, while confirming the first lady was in Hawaii for a "private trip". "There is no such plan for the prime minister to visit Hawaii," Suga said. On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes swept low over the US naval base, killing more than 2,400 American troops and civilians, a date which then-president Franklin Roosevelt declared would live in "infamy". The two-hour bombardment of the US Pacific Fleet at anchor sank or damaged some 20 ships and destroyed 164 planes.
Akie Abe is seen in one of the Facebook photos bowing before a wall on which the Names of victims are inscribed. "Many people must have given fresh thought to the bombed city of Hiroshima and the war after President Obama visited the city," she told the Gendai business web magazine, which apparently accompanied her to Pearl Harbor. "I am aware that there are various debates and views about Pearl Harbor, but I believe we must go beyond hatred and anger, and pass down these memories to following generations." Abe is seen in Japan as playing a political role that complements her husband, sometimes by softening his hawkish image and at others by soothing his nationalist supporters. She has visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honours millions of Japan's war dead as well as several senior figures convicted of war crimes after World War II. Her husband has been forced to stay away from the shrine after making a visit there in December 2013. The visit set off a firestorm of criticism in China and South Korea, and also earned a rare rebuke from top ally the United States.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
PM Shehbaz asked to extend hand to Imran Khan, India
Vietnam hails Gandhara Corridor project for cultural tourism promotion
Price Control Magistrates conduct crackdown against price hike
14 stolen bikes recovered, gang leader arrested
GCWU Sialkot VC meets Punjab governor
World Immunization Week kicks off in Mirpurkhas
President for stronger economic, cultural ties with China
Imad Wasim expected to take part in fourth T20I match against New Zealand
Ayubia chairlift closure inflicts heavy losses on traders
N. Macedonia starts elections that could decide stalled EU talks
Illegal occupation of land: Court confirms interim bail of PTI leader
Football: English Premier League result
More Stories From World
-
N. Macedonia starts elections that could decide stalled EU talks
25 minutes ago -
Haaland ruled out of Man City's crucial trip to Brighton
25 minutes ago -
Four dead as floods wreak havoc in Kenyan capital
25 minutes ago -
Thousands in heatwave-hit Bangladesh pray for rain
55 minutes ago -
EU urges probe into reported mass graves at Gaza hospitals
1 hour ago -
Gucci owner Kering's shares sink after profit warning
1 hour ago
-
Extreme heat scorches Southeast Asia, bringing school closures and warnings
1 hour ago -
Ambassador Hashmi greets China on Space Day
1 hour ago -
Mass cancellations loom despite French air union calling off strike
2 hours ago -
Record-breaking London stocks spearhead global rally
2 hours ago -
'City Hunter' manga hero drops the sexism for new live-action film
2 hours ago -
Russian deputy defence minister held over bribery accusations
2 hours ago