克里出席廣島原子彈爆炸紀念儀式

John Kerry has become the first sitting US secretary of state to visit a memorial to his country’s atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a gesture of reconciliation that may lay the ground for Barack Obama to visit next month.

約翰•克里(John Kerry)成爲首位出席美國原子彈轟炸廣島紀念儀式的美國國務卿，這一和解姿態或爲巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)下個月的訪問打下基礎。

Foreign ministers from the G7, with Mr Kerry in the centre and Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida at his side, laid wreaths on the victims’ cenotaph shortly before midday in Japan. Showing the delicate choreography of sorrow but not regret, Mr Kerry did not bow or lower his head.

正午前不久，七國集團(G7)外長在日本的廣島死難者紀念碑前獻上了花圈。其中，克里位於衆位外長的中間，旁邊是日本外相岸田文雄(Fumio Kishida)。克里在現場並未鞠躬或低頭，舉手投足間傳達了淡淡的悲傷，不過並未表現出悔恨的姿態。

Mr Kerry’s visit marks a breakthrough in the political controversy that has kept US officials away from Hiroshima for seven decades, with the US unwilling to apologise for the atomic bombings as demanded by Japanese citizen groups.

克里的訪問標誌着一場政治爭論的突破。由於美國不願按照日本公民團體的要求爲實施原子彈轟炸道歉，70年來上述政治爭論一直將美國高官擋在了廣島之外。

“Everyone in the world should see and feel the power of this memorial,” Mr Kerry wrote in the guest book at the peace memorial museum. “It is a stark, harsh, compelling reminder not only of our obligation to end the threat of nuclear weapons but to rededicate all our effort to avoid war itself.”

在廣島和平紀念館的訪客留言簿上，克里寫道：“全球每個人都應見證和體會這一紀念的力量。這是一種直截了當、觸目驚心而又震撼心靈的提醒，不僅提醒我們終結核武器威脅的義務，還提醒我們應竭盡全力避免戰爭本身。”

The memorial, centred on the skeletal remains of the A-Bomb Dome, commemorates approximately 80,000 Japanese killed in the final days of the second world war by the first use of an atomic weapon.

紀念儀式以原爆紀念館(A-Bomb Dome)中的遺骸爲核心，紀念二戰最後時日裏在首次使用的原子武器下喪生的近8萬日本人。

A Japanese foreign ministry official said the visit was “extremely important to foster international momentum to realise a world free of nuclear weapons” and to close a growing gap between the nuclear weapon states of France, the UK and the US and the four non-nuclear members of the G7.

一名日本外務省官員表示，“對於促成創造無核武器世界的國際趨勢”，對於彌合七國集團有核成員國法英美與無核成員國之間越來越大的分歧，克里的到訪都“極爲重要”。

The official said foreign ministers had agreed to issue a “Hiroshima declaration” that would include actions towards the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons.

這位官員表示，各外長已同意發佈一份“廣島聲明”，其中會包括以消除核武器爲目標的種種措施。

G7 foreign ministers continued their meetings on Monday with a discussion of Ukraine. On Sunday they agreed new actions on terrorism, to include better sharing of passenger information by airlines.

週一，G7外長接着在會晤中討論了烏克蘭問題。週日，他們曾就反恐新舉措達成一致，其中包括加強航空公司乘客信息的分享。

A final communiqué, expected on Monday afternoon, will be closely watched to see what language it uses over territorial disputes such as the South China Sea. China has urged Japan not to raise the subject at the G7 but the communiqué is likely to oppose unilateral actions to change the status quo. It could also call on countries to respect court decisions, which would be significant given an upcoming case between the Philippines and China.

週一下午預計會發布一份最終的公報。人們將密切關注這份公報，考察其中對南中國海(South China Sea)等領土爭端問題的措辭。儘管中國已敦促日方不要在G7會議上提出這個話題，這份公報仍可能會反對改變現狀的單邊舉措。此外，公報還可能呼籲各國尊重國際法庭的判決。考慮到菲律賓和中國之間將出現的紛爭，上述呼籲意義重大。

While Mr Kerry’s visit is important, the symbolism of a special trip by Mr Obama after next month’s G7 summit would be greater. Officials in the US and Japan explored the possibility of Mr Obama visiting Hiroshima last year, the 70th anniversary of the war’s end, but the trip did not go ahead.

儘管克里的訪問十分重要，奧巴馬在下個月G7峯會後的專門訪問則會有更大的象徵意義。去年二戰結束70週年時，美日雙方曾探討過奧巴馬訪問廣島的可能性，但並未成行。

Mr Obama would face criticism at home if he appeared to apologise for the atomic bombings in any way but a Hiroshima visit would add to his diplomatic legacy. It would also be regarded as an important victory for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, showing he has used his G7 presidency to achieve his domestic ends.

若奧巴馬現身爲美國原子彈轟炸道歉，他或許會在美國國內面臨批評，然而訪問廣島卻可能爲其外交遺產增添一筆。此舉還可能被視爲日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)的重要勝利，表明他運用其G7主席的身份實現了日本國內的目標。