All papers reported in their city news sections on the positive response by citizens in Hiroshima, including the survivors of the atomic bombing, to the White House announcement on the President’s trip to Hiroshima. They expressed hope that the President will learn about the terrible nature of the atomic bombing and issue a powerful message calling for nuclear disarmament equivalent….Read more

Sankei wrote that the Chinese and the ROK governments are apprehensive about the U.S. leader’s trip to Hiroshima since it may project Japan as a “victim” of WWII. In reporting the White House announcement on the trip, China’s Xinhua News Agency highlighted the USG’s explanation that the visit does not mean that Washington is retracting its view that the atomic….Read more

Asahi reported that arrangements are being made for Secretary of Defense Carter to visit Tokyo in early June for talks with Defense Minister Nakatani. In the planned meeting, the two officials are likely to exchange views on North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and China’s aggressive pursuit of maritime interests in the South China Sea. They will also probably discuss….Read more

NHK reported this morning that White House Press Secretary Earnest told reporters on Monday that the White House will soon announce whether President Obama will travel to Hiroshima when he visits Japan for the Ise-Shima Summit scheduled for May 26-27. Press Secretary Earnest reportedly said “the President expressed interest in visiting Hiroshima when he visited Japan in 2009” and pointed….Read more

Mainichi wrote that in response to Donald Trump’s call for Japan to pay more for hosting U.S. forces, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga stated at a news conference on Monday that Japan is shouldering an appropriate amount. Suga was quoted as saying that the U.S.-Japan alliance benefits both parties and that the two nations have been discussing appropriate cost sharing. Yomiuri….Read more

Monday evening’s Nikkei front-paged a report on remarks made by Finance Minister Aso at an Upper House Audit Committee session on Monday, during which he said that the government is ready to intervene in the currency market if the yen rises rapidly against other currencies. Aso was quoted as saying that rapid fluctuations in the exchange market are undesirable. Concerning….Read more

NHK reported this morning on the results of its opinion survey conducted on May 6-8, which found that 70% of the respondents want President Obama to visit Hiroshima, while 2% said they don’t want him to visit the A-bombed city and 23% were undecided. The telephone survey covered nearly 1,600 people aged 20 years or older, and 1,036 responded.

Monday evening’s Asahi front-paged a report on a lawsuit filed on Monday with the Kochi District Court by a group of 45 former Japanese fishermen and the families of deceased fishermen mainly from Kochi against the government of Japan to seek compensation over the hydrogen bomb tests conducted by the U.S. on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1954.….Read more

Will President Obama visit the A-bombed city of Hiroshima? The possibility of a Presidential visit to Hiroshima during the Ise-Shima Summit in late May is being discussed once again. Following the example of Secretary of State Kerry who laid a wreath at the cenotaph for Atomic Bomb victims, if President Obama makes another historic visit, the citizens of the A-bombed….Read more

Monday evening’s Nikkei wrote that former Minister of State for the Declining Birthrate Masako Mori told the paper in Washington that she would like to continue to make efforts to strengthen government and private-sector cooperation between the U.S. and Japan to create a society where women can be more active. Mori was quoted as saying that increased exchanges between American….Read more