In pursuance of peace and friendship, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel and Hiroshima Mayor, Kazumi Matsui signed a sister park agreement for Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park and the Pearl Harbor National Memorial of Hawaii on Thursday, 29 June 2023.
The sister park arrangement is the second between the U.S. and Japan, as it follows one that was made in 2016 between Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gifu Sekigahara Battlefield Memorial Museum.
During the signing ceremony held at the American Embassy in Tokyo, Emanuel averred, “Nobody can go to Pearl Harbor, and nobody can go to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and enter the front door, walk out the exit door and be the same person.”
“I think the hope here is that we inspire people from all over the United States and all over Japan to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial and to visit Pearl Harbor so they can learn the spirit of reconciliation.”
U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel
As part of the sister park deal, the two parks will enhance exchanges and share experiences in restoring historic structures and landscapes, the use of virtual reality and digital images for preservation and education, and best practices in youth education and tourism management.
According to Hiroshima Mayor, Kazumi Matsui, the agreement is aimed at fostering peace.
“The sister arrangement between the two parks related to the beginning and end of the war will be a proof that mankind, despite making the mistake of waging a war, can come to senses and reconcile and pursue peace.”
Hiroshima Mayor, Kazumi Matsui
American entry into World War II was prompted by Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. On August 6, 1945, the United States launched an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, which resulted in the deaths of roughly 140,000 people. Three days later, it dropped another bomb on Nagasaki, which resulted in the deaths of another 70,000 people. On August 15, Japan gave up, putting a stop to its aggression across Asia for nearly 50 years.
Since the war, the two countries have established a powerful alliance.
The two parks became places of reconciliation when then-President Barack Obama as the first serving American leader to visit, paid tribute to atomic bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Park in May 2016, and then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in return, visited Pearl Harbor in December that year.
“Another Historic Accomplishment”
In a statement, Former U.S President, Barack Obama congratulated the sister park signing, calling it “another historic accomplishment.”
“By connecting our two peoples to our shared past, we can build a shared future grounded in peace and cooperation,” he said.
However, in Hiroshima, some atomic bombing survivors expressed concern about the sister park arrangement, saying it could help justify the use of nuclear weapons and should be reconsidered.
“I understand anguish and angst is an emotion but I don’t think you should be trapped by that,” Emanuel said. He added that reconciliation between the United States and Japan “is the example of what I think this world desperately needs right now.”
Emanuel emphasized that Pearl Harbor is a revered place in the American psyche, while Hiroshima is an equally revered place in the Japanese psyche, “which is why you want to build a sister park agreement to learn from each other.”
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