Here’s What People In Hawaii Want To Tell The Prime Minister Of Japan
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will become the first sitting Japanese leader to visit Pearl Harbor on Tuesday. Before the visit, we asked people in Hawaii what they want him to know.
Reporting From
Honolulu, Hawaii
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Pearl Harbor with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday. This will mark the first time a sitting Japanese leader has visited Pearl Harbor since the attack 75 years ago.
Prior to Abe’s visit, BuzzFeed News asked people in Hawaii what they wanted Japan and the Prime Minister to know. Here’s what they said.
"Unity"
"Welcome Sir! As Ex-Navy, I welcome you! I hope that even with Trump coming into office soon I hope we can always have PEACE between our beautiful countries. Thank you."
"Respect each other, share love and celebrate life!"
"Happy that a lot has changed"
"Always be kind"
"Love Trumps all. Let's not recreate the mistakes of WWII."
"STAND STRONG"
"Respect the new President unlike they did the last President Obama"
"Thanks for the courage to visit Pearl Harbor"
"PEACE"
"We value the new relationship of peace"
"Peace"
"Love > Hate"
"Thank you for visiting Pearl Harbor! It holds a significant importance for both countries."
"Only the dead have seen the end of war — Plato"
Abe's visit comes after Obama became the first sitting US leader to visit Hiroshima, the site of one of two US atomic bomb attacks in Japan. In May, when Obama visited Japan, we asked people in Hiroshima what they wanted to tell him.
-
Michelle Broder Van Dyke is a breaking news reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Honolulu.
Contact Michelle Broder Van Dyke at michelle@buzzfeed.com.
Got a confidential tip? Submit it here.
