Kerry in Japan for landmark Hiroshima visit

Hiroshima : John Kerry became the first US secretary of state to visit the memorial to the atomic bombing ofHiroshima on Monday, but an aide ruled out any apology by Washington over the US attack on the Japanese city.

Kerry, who was accompanied by other G7 foreign ministers, is the highest-ranking administration official to pay his respects at the revered site of the World War II bombing the world's first nuclear attack.

His trip comes as White House officials say President Barack Obama is considering a stop in the city late next month around the time of a Group of Seven summit, which is being held in another part of the country.

Kerry's visit, and speculation that Obama may also go to Hiroshima, have prompted suggestions that Washington may be considering an official apology over the August 1945 bombing, which killed 140,000 people.

Kerry and other officials, however, have played down that expectation.

"My visit to Hiroshima has very special meaning about the strength of our relationship and the journey we have travelled together since the difficult time of the war," Kerry told Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida on Monday ahead of the memorial visit.

He added: "We will revisit the past and honour those who perished, (but) this trip is not about the past; it's about the present and the future."

Separately, a US official said flatly that Kerry would offer no formal apology.

"If you are asking whether the secretary of state came to Hiroshima to apologise, the answer is no," the State Department official, who asked not to be named, told reporters travelling with Kerrylate Sunday.