US and Japan: The power of reconciliation

Shinzo Abe in 2015   (Public Domain)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Pearl Harbor later this month.  He will meet there with American President Barack Obama at the USS Arizona Memorial.

Abe’s historic gesture complements Obama’s previous trip to Hiroshima.  The White House predicts that this meeting will “showcase the power of reconciliation that has turned former adversaries into the closest of allies, united by common interests and shared values.”

Nevertheless, headlines are focusing upon a perceived lack of apology.  This begs the question:  Do apologies consist primarily of words or actions?  An official visit to the “scene of the crime,” so to speak, may echo far louder than words ever could.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/japanese-leader-abe-wont-apologize-at-pearl-harbo/ar AAl9oyg?OCID=ansmsnnews11

Copyright December 7, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved