The White House on Wednesday said President Biden will not issue an apology for America’s use of the nuclear bomb to end World War II when he visits the Hiroshima peace memorial this weekend as part of the meetings in Japan of the Group of Seven industrialized nations.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Mr. Biden will participate in a wreath-laying at the site.
“The president won’t be making a statement at the peace memorial park,” he told reporters on Air Force One. “This is him as one of the G-7 leaders coming to pay respects.”
President Barack Obama was the first sitting president to visit the Hiroshima site. He visited the site, gave a speech and met with bombing survivors in May 2016. He did not offer a formal apology.
Mr. Biden is visiting Japan for a series of meetings with world leaders to discuss the war in Ukraine, deterring China’s aggression and global issues such as clean energy.
Mr. Biden decided to scrap visits to Papua New Guinea and Australia following the G-7, citing the need to see out negotiations in Washington over raising the U.S. government’s $31.4 trillion debt limit.
Mr. Sullivan said while those countries might be disappointed, their leaders know the U.S. has their back.
He cited Mr. Biden’s engagement with Pacific islands and a major security deal in which the U.S. agreed to supply nuclear submarines to Australia.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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