Tokyo: Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will attend the annual peace ceremonies in Hiroshima on Monday and three days later in Nagasaki commemorating the US atomic bombings of the cities in 1945, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said today.
The premier's attendance comes at a time when Japan is still discussing the future of nuclear energy following the crisis at the Fukushima power plant last year. Noda is scheduled to visit Okayama and Fukuyama cities in southwestern Japan on Sunday to inspect leading companies in the healthcare and energy environment fields, regarded as key areas for Japan's future economic growth, Fujimura said.