On the 27th of June, President Obama was the first President of the United States to visit Hiroshima.

Alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, President Obama placed flowers at the Hiroshima Atom Bomb Victims Memorial. In his speech he said that we must “look directly into the eye of history” of a world war that devastated innocent victims, and aim for a nuclear-free world. He paid respects to the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who died when the U.S. dropped the atom bombs towards the close of WWII.

It was a historic moment for an incumbent President not only to visit Hiroshima but also shake hands with victims of the atomic bomb. The problem was that in Obama’s speech there was no apology for the crime committed by the U.S. against Japan. Without question, dropping the atom bomb was the severest crime against humanity in history. Seventy years after the war, the U.S. needs to “look directly into the eye” of that crime, and reflect upon the deed.

Was the Atom Bomb Necessary?

Some Americans, who knew the situation in WWII well, say that there was no need to drop the atom bombs. Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy, who criticized the U.S. for the atom bombings, wrote in his memoirs of the abomination of attacking non-combatant civilians:

“It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon [the atom bomb] at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons.”

“If we destroyed women and children, we cannot say that we won the war”.

 
Five-star General and later 34th President, Dwight D. Eisenhower also wrote in his autobiography, “Japan was already defeated and that dropping the atomic bomb was completely unnecessary”.

Despite all of this, why did the Truman administration decide to drop the atom bomb? It is said that the U.S. wanted to restrain the Soviet Union by a display of power. The choice to drop it on Japan, and not a European country such as Germany, was simply a case of white supremacist racism.

Public opinion in the U.S. is still geared towards the mistaken notion that the atom bomb ended the war; but because the U.S., which was the only nuclear possessing country after WWII, kept trying to justify their crime, now dictatorial China and North Korea have an excuse to continue developing their nuclear weapons.

Nuclear Arming Japan, Now a Far-Off Dream

Master Ryuho Okawa, founder of Happy Science gave a public lecture on May 11 at Osaka-jo Hall entitled “Faith and Prosperity, in which he spoke of President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima. He said:

“I also wish for a world without nuclear weapons, but if Obama visits Hiroshima and says, “Lets abolish nukes from the world” and the U.S. and Japan pledge to that, it is the same as telling the world that Japan can’t hold nuclear armaments, and America’s Nuclear Umbrella is no longer prevalent.”

“For nuclear armed and rising countries such as China and North Korea, this would signify the decline of the U.S., or its isolationism.”

As the only country in the world that suffered a nuclear holocaust, a nuclear-free world is ideal. The reality is, however, that Japan is surrounded by nuclear weapons from China and North Korea who want to dominate Asia. These nuclear possessing countries are thus threatening countries in Asia, and it is only through an armed nuclear military force that we can stand on equal footing with countries that don’t listen to talk of a nuclear-free world or what others have to say.

U.S. and Japan to Cooperate to Stop Nuclear Use

After the war, Japan recovered from the aftermath of the atom bombs, and attained the peace and prosperity it now enjoys. In order to protect this peace and prosperity, we must advance ‘nuclear sharing’ so that Japan can use U.S. nuclear equipment when necessary, and for Japan to hold its own nuclear armaments for self-defense.

It is time for the U.S and Japan to cooperate to prevent nuclear possessing dictatorial countries from using nukes. This is the gate to a truly nuclear-free world.