Japanese prime minister visits the USS Arizona Memorial

World Today

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has become the first sitting Japanese Prime Minister in more than 50 years to visit Pearl Harbor.

Seventy-Five years ago, Japanese warplanes attacked the naval base, killing more than 2,400 men and women, bringing the United States into World War II.

CCTV America’s Mark Niu reports.

With President Barack Obama at his side, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe entered the USS Arizona Memorial, which sits atop a sunken battle ship in Pearl Harbor.

He saw the names of more than 1,000 sailors who died during the attack on Dec. 7, 1941.

Abe later said he was rendered speechless and that he could almost discern the voices of those crewmen.

Despite criticism from some historians in Asian countries, including China, Abe did not apologize for wartime atrocities, but instead offered sympathy.

World War II veterans, including members of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, the all Japanese-American unit that became one of the most decorated in U.S. military history, were also at the event.

President Obama’s closing remarks could be viewed as a message toward countries abroad and divisions within the United States. He said when hatred burns hottest, we must resist the urge to turn inward. He said we can’t choose our history but that we can choose what lessons to chart our future.