US Secretary of State John Kerry has made a historic visit to the Hiroshima memorial in Japan, which commemorates the world’s first atomic bombing.
He is the first US secretary of state to ever visit Hiroshima, where around 140,000 were killed when the US dropped its atomic bomb in 1945.
Kerry was joined by foreign ministers from the G7 group of nations who are holding talks in the city.
They laid wreaths at the memorial and observed a minute’s silence.
The ministers also visited the nearby Hiroshima museum, which tells the personal stories of people who died in the city.
Kerry wrote in the museum guestbook that it was “a stark, harsh, compelling reminder not only of our obligation to end the threat of nuclear weapons, but to rededicate all our effort to avoid war itself”.
It comes amid efforts to strengthen the relationship between the US and Japan, particularly with growing concern about China’s assertiveness in territorial disputes in Asia, affecting Japan and other US allies, reports the BBC.
US media reports cite government officials as saying President Barack Obama is also considering a visit when he attends a G7 leaders’ summit in Japan in May.
It would be the first time a sitting US president has visited Hiroshima.
