U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to make a historic visit to Hiroshima on May 27, a Japanese business newspaper reported Friday. It said he will make a speech in the city calling for the abolition of nuclear arms.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stopped short of confirming the Nikkei's report on Friday, but chose his words carefully.

Such a visit would make history in several ways. No serving U.S. president has gone to Hiroshima, held back in part by conservatives who argue that Washington ought not to show regret for the bombing just over 70 years ago.