Japanese Prime Minister Marks 67th Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing

The following text is the provisional translation by the Prime Minister's Office of the full address by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on the 67th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Comments

[Brian Gundlach]

The shouldering of the mantle of martyrdom by the Japanese PM flies in the face of historical fact. We had a nuclear weapon free world pre WWII. Japan used that opportunity to slaughter people in almost every country on the Pacific rim. Free nations allied against Japan even after defeat was apparent the Japanese leadership refused to surrender. Invasion of Japan was imminent prior to the bombings, US casualties were projected to be 1 million and given what is known regarding the extreme brutality of combat leading up to that point I would speculate that Japanese casualties would have far exceeded 1 million. For the Japanese PM to act the innocent victim is ridiculous. To forget history and leave this distorted view unchallenged is dangerous.