What did you think of U.S. President Barack Obama's speech at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park?

It was exactly what it was predicted to be. Unfortunately media continually hyping the story with speculation and rumor-mongering led to a frustrating month of the gaijinweb being wall-to-wall hand-wringing and nonsense about how Obama was going to shame, humiliate, or ruin the US. Which didn't happen because of course not, don't be ridiculous. But I imagine news sites racked up a lot of ad revenue from all the page-views they got indulging in the worst aspects of their audience's imaginations.

I liked the speech. Obama did well here. Shame no other sitting president until now has decided to visit.

Did exactly what it was supposed to. Get us all "anti-nuke" while the USA continues selling billions in other weapons to various countries around the world.

Good point, Mike L. While his speech was politically correct, it was, in a way, chimera.

a frustrating month of the gaijinweb being wall-to-wall hand-wringing and nonsense about how Obama was going to shame, humiliate, or ruin the US

katsu78,

With all due respect there was next to NONE of what you just posted!! Myself like many other pointed out the timing was wrong, Japan didn't deserve it.......etc but there was NOTHING about shame or ruin or humiliating the US...

Obama hit one out of the park yesterday, a brilliant speech, nailed it!! abe's by comparison was very lame & inward navel gazing, blind to the world outside Japan, as usual.

Japan was give a great gift yesterday, & I still think it was undeserved. Japan should have made conditions for a US president to visit decades ago, the US had to FORCE it sadly.

Now lets see if abe & Japan can man up some! It would be great to witness but highly unlikely, would LOVE to be proven wrong though!!

there was NOTHING about shame or ruin or humiliating the US...

Were you not reading the comments on the articles here?

Sure, where was the stuff about shame, RUIN, humiliation of the US???

I listened to Obama's speech at least three times plus bits & pieces of it in various newscasts and special programs. I thought it was a very, very good speech. I'm sure the speechwriters put a lot of work into the speech as nothing sounded out of line. He did what he had to do ... and he did it perfectly.

I was also glad to see the U.S. ambassador in attendance. She's doing an excellent job in that position.

Sure, where was the stuff about shame, RUIN, humiliation of the US???

The wall isn't started yet.

Well done, President Obama, by the way.

It was very humanitarian. But everyone seems to look at it through their own political agenda lens.

I was good in that people (like me) who believe the bombs were necessary to quickly bring the war to an end are not callous and do indeed understand the suffering that took place there....as well as in thousands of other cities across Asia and Europe.

If President visited all air-raided cities all over in Japan.

Tina's answer points out the exact reason why requiring an apology in order to give one, doesn't work. Someone can always find a reason not to apologize, it's much harder to be the bigger man to apologize first.

Obama didn't apologize at Hiroshima, but he also didn't get sucked into the 'well the Japanese haven't apologized for Pearl Harbor or Nanking' fallacy. He did what was right because it was right, and now Japan and other countries can follow suit or not, but it's prerogative, as Obama has shown America to be above that pettiness.

I was skeptical about Obama's Hiroshima visit. But he did great . . . and I hardly ever agree with all the things he does.

He did what was right because it was right, and now Japan and other countries can follow suit or not

Good point. Actually that comment summarizes it best. If the hibakusha are still butt-hurt about not getting an apology, let's hope they will at least, one day, appreciate this sitting US President's gesture.

I thought his speech was great. Not apologizing or demanding apology, not pointing fingers, but simply saying... War is bad... Let's grow up.

Sure, where was the stuff about shame, RUIN, humiliation of the US???

The wall isn't started yet

Ok..... would LOVE to hear how the wall relates to Japan/Hiroshima though, should be interesting!

The question he is really asking is whether it is morally acceptable for a few people who have political power and their finger on the atom bomb trigger to put an end to the human species (which we can now do with atom bombs). We have to think about this. Anyway, I predict that the perfect storm will occur within the next 15 to 20 years. That is all the time the human species, or all living species, have to live here on earth. So lay back and take it easy.

Go read the comments on breitbart and they will make your stomach turn. Those comments are vile. Thousands of posts using terrible language to describe the speech as well as obama and the Japanese people in general. A lot of the online newspapers have some pretty terrible anti japanese comment sections. I thought the speech was just fine for the times we are in, a balance that what was done was done but never should be done again etc.

I think what Obama did was to spit in the face of every American soldier who gave their life fighting Imperial Japan! Did we forget that Japan launched a sneak attach on American on a Sunday morning, while ambassitor from Japan was falsely negotiating trade deals! What Japan did not only to America, but China too! The attricites committed by Japanese soldiers on American, austrailians, and Chinese, were dispicable! The president of Japan should have come to Pearl Harbor and apologized to America! Remember, after we dropped the first bomb, Japan refused to surrender! It was only after we dropped the second bomb did they realize that to continue to fight would be futile! Americans who support obamas comments are like home are woofully ignorant of history, as I see it his speech does nothing but to attempt to reignite the division between America and Japan during that time! Did we all forget that without a declaration of war the Imerial Forces of Japan chose to attach the United States on a Sunday no less! Personally I have no regret the we "America" dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan to end the butchery of the Imerial Army of Japan . The leadership of Japan brought the devistation of nuclear war upping their own people, and the blood of every man woman and child who lost their lives rests on the leadership of Imperial Japan and not the United States of America! The Japanese education system has been derilict in their duty to educate their children about the atrocities inflicted by the Imperial Army of Japan, derilict in educating their children that their country launched a sneak attack without declaration of war! The are derilict in educating their children of the rape committed against the woman of China! For their actions the Japanese people should bow their shame and beg forgiveness from the world and most particularly beg forgiveness from America! 70 years have passed and never once has any Japanese president come to Pearl Harbor to apologize and beg forgiveness from the nearly 3,000 men and woman they killed with their savage attack! Japan by their own rules have lost face for their cowardly attack, their war crimes against humanity, and by those same rules should destroy themselves! The world has been very forgiving to Japan for their cowardly actions, and it's they who should be begging forgiveness of the world! What Mr. obama said is not representative of the Americans view, particularly those who lost family members from the cowardly actions of the Imperial Government of Japan. It's high time after 70 years the President of Japan regain face and come to America and beg our forgiveness and an appology for their cowardly acts. It's only through the courage and resolve of America that we chose to unleash such horrific devistation upon Japan that forced their surrender, there is no counting the lives we "AMERICA" saved by forcing surrender and defeat! Let that be a lesson to all those who think they have the ability to defeat America! My father used to quote the words of some Japanese officer after their surrender, "we were unable to defeat you on the battlefield of war, so we shall defeat you economically", in truth they have managed to carry that out! It's time AMERICA puts AMERICA first, and knocks any country on their ass who attempts to terrorize, intimidate, or destroy America!