US President Barack Obama hails the 'great alliance' with Japan ahead of Hiroshima visit

IWAKUNI: President Barack Obama hailed the "great alliance" between the United States and Japan Friday, just hours ahead of his historic visit to Hiroshima.

"We are reaffirming one of the greatest alliances in the world between Japan and the United States," he told troops at a base in Iwakuni in the west of the country.