Photo/Illutration Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, right, and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel speak at the signing ceremony of a sister park arrangement between the Pearl Harbor National Memorial and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on June 29. (Hideki Soejima)

Survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings have shown an unwavering determination to continue asking about the responsibility of the United States for dropping the bombs as part of their push toward a world without nuclear weapons.

The local governments of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have a duty to take their commitment to the cause seriously and join them in exploring the path to nuclear abolition.

Rather than shelving discussions on the issue of responsibility, they should instead try to deepen the debate.

Last week, in answering a question during a municipal assembly session, the chief of the citizens bureau of the Hiroshima municipal government said that the local government will “shelve for now” discussions about the responsibility of the United States for dropping the atomic bomb on the city.

The official’s remarks, which came abruptly, sparked criticism from atomic bomb survivors, or hibakusha, and citizens.

The bureau chief’s controversial remarks came in response to a question about the sister park agreement signed in June between the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Hawaii.

This agreement between the two parks related to the beginning and the ending of the war, made under Washington’s initiative, is designed to promote peace-building through mutual cultural, tourist and educational exchanges and puts emphasis on a “future-oriented” stance.

At the time of the signing, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said the agreement was a “symbol of reconciling with reason and seeking peace with a future-oriented attitude.”

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who signed the agreement with Matsui, said, “These parks, which were once sites of conflict, are now places of reconciliation. … This new Sister Park Arrangement will expand the community of Americans and Japanese who visit Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima, learn their histories and chart a better pathway forward.”

The genesis of the agreement was in 2016, when then-U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute to atomic bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park as the first sitting American leader to visit the site and then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in return, visited Pearl Harbor in December that year.

In a note celebrating the signing, Obama wrote, “My visit to Hiroshima and Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Pearl Harbor were key steps in deepening the alliance between our two nations. This agreement today marks another historic accomplishment.”

On the other hand, the recently adopted Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament merely emphasized the importance of a nuclear deterrence policy, reflecting the international situation fraught with risks and conflicts, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Hiroshima Vision was adopted by the leaders of the Group of Seven nations at their summit in Hiroshima held the month before the sister park agreement was signed.

It is hardly surprising that many people in the atomic-bombed cities who have been disappointed and indignant with the Hiroshima Vision have heightened concerns that the United States’ responsibility for the nuclear attacks may gradually become obscured.

With the generation who had first-hand experiences of World War II diminishing, the significance of the agreement between the two symbolic parks is not small, and there is no denying that a future-oriented attitude is crucial for the bilateral relationship.

Nevertheless, this should not be a reason to blur past responsibilities. Rather, the two nations can build a truly future-oriented relationship by facing their pasts sincerely and continually asking questions about the mistakes they have made.

Matsui has occasionally called for steps to spread “the spirit of Hiroshima.” We hope he will talk about his own thoughts in his own words.

The world is eagerly waiting for honest and strong messages from Hiroshima, which stands at the forefront of nuclear-free and peace cities in the international community.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 26

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