Japanese-American ties warmer but still conflicted

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The oil that continues to bubble up from the remains of the USS Arizona is an apt metaphor for how the nation feels about Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Seventy-five years later, Americans still well with emotion at the thought of the 2,400 killed and 19 ships damaged or destroyed in the sneak attack.

President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday laid wreaths at a memorial over the Arizona and spoke with aging veterans of the Pearl Harbor attack. The first Japanese leader to visit the memorial, Abe did not apologize for the bombing but expressed “sincere and everlasting condolences” for those lost there.

Abe’s visit followed Obama’s trip in May to Hiroshima, one of two cities on which America dropped atomic bombs in August 1945. The reciprocal visits underscored how far U.S.-Japanese relations have come – and the importance of confronting the past in order to move forward. But it’s OK for Americans to be of two minds – to be grateful for Japan’s friendship today while still feeling hurt about Pearl Harbor. The oil can’t be put back in the ship.