Japan’s first lady visits Pearl Harbor

TOKYO

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife has paid a visit to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, laying flowers at a memorial site commemorating some of the Americans killed in a surprise attack by Japanese planes in 1941.

In a post on her Facebook account Monday, Akie Abe revealed that she visited and said a prayer at the USS Arizona Memorial on Oahu Island, which marks the site where more than 1,100 American sailors and marines were killed in the attack that led to the United States entering World War II.

According to the Japan Times, the visit has fueled speculation about whether PM Abe will follow suit late this year, after U.S. President Barack Obama became the first serving American leader to visit Hiroshima, the site of a U.S. atomic bombing that brought the war to an end, in May.

Among the photos posted on Akie Abe’s account was one showing her shaking hands with a veteran who survived the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, which left more than 2,400 U.S. troops and civilians dead.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday that the visit was conducted in a private capacity before Akie Abe joined a maritime environment conference.

“Her visit there was a personal one, and the government won’t comment on this,” he was quoted as saying by the Times.

The first lady told the Gendai Ismedia online news service online news service after the visit that she hopes for continuing peace in her home country.

“I offered my condolences to the victims and gave my prayer of gratitude for the peace that we have enjoyed and to establish the peace going forward,” she said.

“I understand that there are various debates and stances on Pearl Harbor, but I think that we have to pass on the memory to the next generation, transcending the feelings of hate and anger,” she underlined.