On August 6, 2015, Kennedy accompanied US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Rose Gottemoeller to the memorial for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan by the United States in World War II. It marked the 70th anniversary of the bombing, and Gottemoeller became the first senior American official to attend the annual memorial. Kennedy was only the second US ambassador to attend. With representatives of 100 countries in attendance, Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe reiterated Japan's official support for the abolition of nuclear weapons.