A grandson of former US president Harry Truman, who authorised the atomic bombing of Japan during World War II, met survivors in Tokyo Friday, calling it "a good first step towards healing old wounds". Clifton Truman Daniel, 55, was in Japan to attend 67th anniversary ceremonies - on August 6 in Hiroshima and August 9 in Nagasaki - the first Truman relative to attend the annual events in the southern Japanese cities.
Tens of thousands of people come out every year to remember the 1945 atomic bombing, estimated to have killed more than 200,000 people, either instantly or from burns and radiation sickness following the blast. Truman's grandson, a former journalist who was invited by an anti-nuclear group, talked with a handful of survivors and students at a Tokyo University forum on Friday. "The meeting was great," Daniel told reporters following the two-hour conversation during which he mainly listened to survivors who are now in their 70s and 80s. "The most impressive thing is that survivors and students and all of us can come together and talk, and they can share their stories," said Daniel, who lives in Chicago. In a separate interview with AFP, Daniel added that "it's a good first step toward heeling old wounds. We are looking at this as a good first step to talk and to better understand each other".