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Abe, Obama affirm alliance in ceremony at Pearl Harbor

28 December 2016 04:57 (UTC +04:00)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a historic visit to Pearl Harbor Tuesday, offering condolences to the thousands killed in the Japanese sneak attack 75 years ago, APA reports quoting CNN.

Abe's visit comes seven months after President Barack Obama traveled to Hiroshima to pay his respects to the thousands who died there. The two leaders used the ceremony to affirm their nations' alliance, with Obama calling for people to "resist the urge to turn inward," perhaps a reference to President-elect Donald

Trump and calls around the globe for nations to reconsider their international dependencies.

As expected, Abe did not apologize for the attack on Pearl Harbor but did offer what he called "sincere and everl

"We must never repeat the horrors of war again," Abe warned the audience, with the USS Arizona Memorial behind him.

In his speech, Obama reflected on the events at Pearl Harbor 75 years ago while also paying tribute to the restored relations between Japan and the United States.

He told the audience, including survivors of the event, "our alliance has never been stronger."

"The United States and Japan chose friendship and they chose peace. Over the decades, our alliances have made the nations more successful," Obama said.

"Today, the alliance between the United States and Japan, bound not only by shared interests but also rooted in common values, stands as the cornerstone of peace and civility in the Asian-Pacific and a force for progress around the globe, our alliance has never been stronger. In good times and in bad we're there for each other."