Hiroshima Aims To Heal Wounds With Mayor's War Apology

HIROSHIMA, Japan In a surprise comment during his keynote speechat the ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the dropping of the firstatomic bomb, Mayor Takashi Hiraoka today broke with tradition anddelivered a forthright formal apology for Japan's actions duringWorld War II.

"The suffering of all the war's victims indelibly etched in ourhearts, we want to apologize for the unbearable suffering thatJapanese colonial domination and war inflicted on so many people," hesaid.

City officials said the symbolism of the 50th anniversary,coupled with heightened awareness of atomic weapons after France'sdecision to …