(VOVworld) – US President Barack Obama said Sunday his upcoming visit to Hiroshima would emphasize friendly ties between the US and Japan - former enemies in World War II.

President Obama last week. A visit to Hiroshima was hotly debated within the White House for months as Mr. Obama planned his trip to Vietnam and Japan. (Photo: Zach Gibson/The New York Times)

In an interview with Japanese national broadcaster NHK, President Obama said the Japan-America relationship is one of the closest partnerships in the world, and called the US and Japan “key allies”. Earlier, the White House said President Obama will pay a historic visit to Hiroshima, which was devastated by an atomic bomb dropped by the US on August 6^th, 1945. Obama is the first sitting US President to visit Hiroshima.