The President (Obama) goes to Japan

A visit to Japan by President Obama might present the perfect opportunity for him to apologise for the havoc wreaked on the Japanese when the US dropped those nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in 1945. But he won't! In fact he won't address other concerns the Japanese have with the Americans - one being the ongoing naval bases on Japanese soil.

"President Obama heads to Japan this week for an historic visit to Hiroshima, site of the world’s first use of a nuclear weapon, and one of the United States’ most enduring shameful acts. The corporate media has hailed the visit as an important step in strengthening bilateral relations between the US and Japan. Indeed, it certainly is that as the US seeks to reassert its hegemony in an Asia-Pacific region increasingly being seen as the sphere of influence of China.

However, Obama’s arrival in Japan also highlights the deeply hypocritical and cynical attitudes of US policymakers, and President Obama himself, when it comes to the relevant issues. He is not expected to formally apologize for the needless slaughter of more than 200,000 Japanese citizens (mostly civilians), nor is he going to address the lingering policy-related effects of the war such as the highly unpopular US military occupation of Okinawa. In fact, it seems Obama is unlikely to touch on anything of substance. But there are indeed numerous subjects which merit close scrutiny."

Continue reading this article "Obama in Hiroshima: A Case Study in Hypocrisy" on counterpunch here.

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