“We can tell our children a different story,” said President Obama on Friday, after detailing the horrors of the day, 71 years ago, in which a “flash of light and a wall of fire” led to the deaths of some 140,000 in Hiroshima.
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Yet, in their remarks in Hiroshima both President Obama and Prime Minister Abe point to a larger and longer lasting trend that can give hope. As Yuki Tatsumi of the Stimson Center’s East Asia Program told the Nelson Report, Japan and America have made an “extraordinary journey” from enemies to friends. Since the end of the war, friendship, cooperation, and a sense of reconciliation has defined the relationship between Japan and the United States. And at this moment, this bond is crucial.