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Obama's hug of Hiroshima survivor epitomizes historic visit

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) - President Barack Obama may have faced the legacy of Hiroshima most directly with his embrace of a man who survived the devastating atomic blast.

He spoke briefly with two survivors in the audience for his remarks Friday at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park: Sunao Tsuboi, the 91-year-old head of a survivors group, and Shigeaki Mori, 79, a historian who was just 8 when the bomb detonated on Aug. 6, 1945.

Obama spoke to Tsuboi first. They laughed at one point, the president throwing back his head and smiling broadly. Obama mostly listened, though, holding the elderly man's hand in his own, an interpreter standing nearby. Tsuboi stamped his cane emphatically while speaking.

Obama then stepped to Mori and shook his hand. He bowed his head briefly and nodded as the man spoke. He patted Mori on the back and hugged him as the survivor shed a few tears.

The president's interaction with survivors was highly anticipated ahead of his historic visit. Obama did not apologize for the decision to bomb, but paid tribute to the victims and decried the horrors of war.

Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe then walked along a tree-lined path, past an eternal flame, toward a river that flows by the domed building that many associate with Hiroshima.

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, second from right, greet Shigeaki Mori, second from left, an atomic bomb survivor; created memorial for American WWII POWs killed at Hiroshima, and Sunao Tsuboi, chairman of Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, each other during a ceremony at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western, Japan, Friday, May 27, 2016. Obama on Friday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, bringing global attention both to survivors and to his unfulfilled vision of a world without nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama) The Associated Press
U.S. President Barack Obama, center, accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, shakes hands and talks with Sunao Tsuboi, a survivor of the 1945 Atomic Bombing and chairman of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organization (HPCASO), at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Friday, May 27, 2016. Obama on Friday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, bringing global attention both to survivors and to his unfulfilled vision of a world without nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) The Associated Press
U.S. President Barack Obama, second from left, greets Shigeaki Mori, second from right, an atomic bomb survivor; created memorial for American WWII POWs killed at Hiroshima, during a ceremony at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western, Japan, Friday, May 27, 2016. Obama on Friday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, bringing global attention both to survivors and to his unfulfilled vision of a world without nuclear weapons. At left is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama) The Associated Press
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, second from left, shakes hands and talks with Sunao Tsuboi, a survivor of the 1945 Atomic Bombing and chairman of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organization (HPCASO), at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Friday, May 27, 2016. Obama on Friday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, bringing global attention both to survivors and to his unfulfilled vision of a world without nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) The Associated Press
U.S. President Barack Obama, second from left, accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, shakes hands and talks with Sunao Tsuboi, a survivor of the 1945 Atomic Bombing and chairman of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organization (HPCASO), at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Friday, May 27, 2016. Obama on Friday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, bringing global attention both to survivors and to his unfulfilled vision of a world without nuclear weapons. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) The Associated Press
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