[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4891]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             PRESIDENT OBAMA SHOULD VISIT HIROSHIMA, JAPAN

  (Mr. TAKANO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage President Obama to 
become the first sitting American President to visit Hiroshima, Japan.
  A visit to Hiroshima is not an apology on America's behalf. It is a 
signal that the Commander in Chief of the world's largest arsenal of 
nuclear weapons appreciates their power, and it sets an example for 
other world leaders to follow.
  I did not fully grasp the horror of Hiroshima until I traveled there 
for the first time in 2002. Only then did I develop a personal and 
lasting connection to the incredible destruction caused by nuclear 
weapons. Every leader who has the capacity to use these weapons should 
have that same experience and feel that same connection.
  One of America's greatest strengths is the power to lead by example. 
The President should use that power to lead the world to Hiroshima and 
away from nuclear weapons.

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