Japanese atomic bomb survivors on Friday rejoiced after hearing that U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to make a landmark visit next month to the city of Hiroshima, the first of the two Japanese cities devastated by U.S. atomic bombs in World War II.
"We're very pleased. If nuclear weapons are going to disappear from this world, we need no apology (from the United States)," said Sunao Tsuboi, a 90-year-old survivor of the Hiroshima bombing. He also expressed hope that Obama will hear firsthand accounts from bomb survivors during his visit, which is expected to take place after he attends a summit of the Group of Seven industrialized countries in Mie Prefecture at the end of May.
Yoshitoshi Fukahori, a survivor of the second atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki, also hailed the news.