Obama to visit Japan's Hiroshima later May: White House

Doves fly over the Peace Memorial Park with a view of the gutted A-bomb dome at a ceremony in Hiroshima, Japan August 6, 2006. [Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON - The White House said Tuesday that US President Barack Obama will visit Hiroshima later this month, the first by a sitting American president.

Calling the visit to Hiroshima "historic," the White House said in a statement that Obama's trip will highlight his "continued commitment to pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."

According to another statement released by Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, the visit to Hiroshima is slated for May 27.

"He (Obama) will not revisit the decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II. Instead, he will offer a forward-looking vision focused on our shared future," said Rhodes.

The White House had previously ruled out the possibility that Obama would apologize for the US bombing of Hiroshima that killed tens of thousands of Japanese civilians in August 1945.

In a recent daily briefing, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said unequivocally that Obama does not believe that Japan deserves a formal government apology.

During his tenth trip to Asia from May 21 to May 28, Obama will also visit Vietnam and participate in his final G7 Summit in Ise-Shima, Japan, said the White House.