In another sign that conventional diplomatic protocol is changing on a daily basis, on Monday Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would visit Hawaii on Dec. 26 and 27 for his final summit meeting with outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama, and to remember the victims of Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack 75 years ago. As Reuters reports, Abe will be the first incumbent Japanese Prime Minister to visit Pearl Harbor after Tokyo launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in December 1941.
His visit follows a landmark trip to Hiroshima in May by Obama, the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Japanese city devastated by a U.S. nuclear attack in 1945.
“I’ll visit Pearl Harbor with President Obama. This will be a visit to console the souls of the victims,” Abe told reporters. “I would like to show to the world the resolve that horrors of war should never be repeated.”
Obama will also accompany Abe to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor to honor those killed, the White House said.
“The two leaders’ visit will showcase the power of reconciliation that has turned former adversaries into the closest of allies, united by common interests and shared values,” spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement.
Earnest added that the meeting will be an opportunity for the two leaders to review joint efforts over the past four years to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance, including a number of security, economic, and global challenges.
via http://ift.tt/2gTvUMj Tyler Durden