Obama at Hiroshima Raises Profile of Possible Abe Successor

When U.S. President Barack Obama laid a wreath at the Hiroshima peace memorial on Friday to honor the 140,000 victims of the world’s first atomic bomb attack, one of the Japanese city’s best-known native sons was standing nearby -- and in a position to take credit for arranging the historic event.

For Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to the site marked a high-point of more than 20 years in politics. Kishida is widely seen as a possible successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and his role in laying the groundwork for the ceremony will further raise his profile in a country where polls showed the vast majority of voters favored the visit.