Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel at the prime minister’s office on Feb. 4 (Koichi Ueda)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has canceled a planned visit to Hiroshima with Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, because of the growing crisis in Ukraine, government sources said.

The decision was made before Russia escalated its military action against Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the sources.

Kishida and Emanual had planned to visit Hiroshima on Feb. 26 and offer flowers at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to mourn those who died in the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

The government has not decided whether to reschedule the visit, the sources said.