Japan’s prime minister kicks off US visit in Boston

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center right, and his wife Akie, second from right, join aides in placing a wreath at the site of one of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings Monday, April 27, 2015, in Boston. Abe met with Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday, and planned visits to Harvard and MIT later in the morning. On Wednesday, he will become the first Japanese leader to address a joint session of Congress, (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center right, and his wife Akie, second from right, join aides in placing a wreath at the site of one of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings Monday, April 27, 2015, in Boston. Abe met with Secretary of State John Kerry Sunday, and planned visits to Harvard and MIT later in the morning. On Wednesday, he will become the first Japanese leader to address a joint session of Congress, (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

By Associated Press April 27, 2015 1 min read

BOSTON (AP) – Japan’s prime minister began the second day of his U.S. visit with a stop at the Boston Marathon finish line.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh ah-bay) and his wife left a wreath at the site Monday morning with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh as a gesture of respect for the victims of the 2013 bombings that killed three people.

Abe is scheduled to visit Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. At each he will meet briefly with students and university officials, including Japanese students and researchers.

On Sunday night, Abe visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and attended a dinner hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry at his Boston home.

Abe will travel on to Washington on Monday afternoon for talks with President Barack Obama.