Japan, U.S. Mull Biden Trip to Nagasaki in 2023

Tokyo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese and U.S. governments are considering the possibility of having U.S. President Joe Biden visit the atomic-bombed southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki next year, several Japanese government sources said Tuesday.

Under a plan under consideration, Biden would travel to Nagasaki when he visits Japan to attend a summit of the Group of Seven major democracies in May 2023, according to the sources. The G-7 summit is scheduled to take place in Hiroshima, another atomic-bombed city.

If realized, the visit will make Biden the first sitting U.S. president ever to visit Nagasaki.

In May 2016, then U.S. President Barack Obama visited Hiroshima, western Japan, for the first time as a serving U.S. president after attending a G-7 summit in the central prefecture of Mie.

In Hiroshima, Obama visited Peace Memorial Park and laid flowers at the cenotaph for the victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing. He also exchanged words with a hibakusha atomic bomb survivor.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]