克里出席广岛原子弹爆炸纪念仪式

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.

约翰•克里(John Kerry)成为首位出席美国原子弹轰炸广岛纪念仪式的美国国务卿，这一和解姿态或为巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)下个月的访问打下基础。

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，七国集团(G7)外长在日本的广岛死难者纪念碑前献上了花圈。其中，克里位于众位外长的中间，旁边是日本外相岸田文雄(Fumio Kishida)。克里在现场并未鞠躬或低头，举手投足间传达了淡淡的悲伤，不过并未表现出悔恨的姿态。

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.

克里的访问标志着一场政治争论的突破。由于美国不愿按照日本公民团体的要求为实施原子弹轰炸道歉，70年来上述政治争论一直将美国高官挡在了广岛之外。

“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.”

在广岛和平纪念馆的访客留言簿上，克里写道：“全球每个人都应见证和体会这一纪念的力量。这是一种直截了当、触目惊心而又震撼心灵的提醒，不仅提醒我们终结核武器威胁的义务，还提醒我们应竭尽全力避免战争本身。”

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.

纪念仪式以原爆纪念馆(A-Bomb Dome)中的遗骸为核心，纪念二战最后时日里在首次使用的原子武器下丧生的近8万日本人。

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.

一名日本外务省官员表示，“对于促成创造无核武器世界的国际趋势”，对于弥合七国集团有核成员国法英美与无核成员国之间越来越大的分歧，克里的到访都“极为重要”。

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

这位官员表示，各外长已同意发布一份“广岛声明”，其中会包括以消除核武器为目标的种种措施。

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.

周一，G7外长接着在会晤中讨论了乌克兰问题。周日，他们曾就反恐新举措达成一致，其中包括加强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.

周一下午预计会发布一份最终的公报。人们将密切关注这份公报，考察其中对南中国海(South China Sea)等领土争端问题的措辞。尽管中国已敦促日方不要在G7会议上提出这个话题，这份公报仍可能会反对改变现状的单边举措。此外，公报还可能呼吁各国尊重国际法庭的判决。考虑到菲律宾和中国之间将出现的纷争，上述呼吁意义重大。

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.

尽管克里的访问十分重要，奥巴马在下个月G7峰会后的专门访问则会有更大的象征意义。去年二战结束70周年时，美日双方曾探讨过奥巴马访问广岛的可能性，但并未成行。

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.

若奥巴马现身为美国原子弹轰炸道歉，他或许会在美国国内面临批评，然而访问广岛却可能为其外交遗产增添一笔。此举还可能被视为日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)的重要胜利，表明他运用其G7主席的身份实现了日本国内的目标。