Japanese atomic bomb survivors say an apology from President Barack Obama for the US bombing of Hiroshima would be welcome, but their priority is on ridding the world of all nuclear weapons forever.

Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, after he attends a meeting of G7 leaders in Tokyo, was hotly debated in the White House, with concern it would be criticised in the US if it was seen as an apology.

Most Japanese feel the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unjustified. Many in the US say the bombings shortened the war and saved the lives of numerous US servicemen.

Terumi Tanaka, a native of Nagasaki who was 13 when the bomb hit, said last week an apology for the human suffering would be welcome. Though he was unharmed, he vividly recalls searching the blackened city and piles of bodies for family members.

“We would definitely like an apology to people who lost their lives, those who lost loved ones, parents who lost their children,” Tanaka, who heads a national organisation of bombing survivors, told a news conference.

We would definitely like an apology to people who lost their lives

But insisting on a broad apology risked interfering with the ultimate goal of nuclear disarmament, he said.

“The strongest feeling of survivors is that this should not become a barrier to getting rid of nuclear weapons,” he said.

Toshiki Fujimori, who was a baby on his mother’s back when the two of them were bowled over by the blast wave from the Hiroshima bomb, said he sensed efforts were being made to dampen talk of an apology in advance of Obama’s visit.

“What I mean is, there has been pressure applied to create a mood in which he can visit,” he said.

“I won’t go into details.”

Hiroshima governor Hidehiko Yuzaki said Obama’s visit was stirring a range of emotions in survivors but they were mostly putting hope for nuclear disarmament first.

“Their biggest wish is that they don’t want anybody to go through this again,” he told Reuters.

“In order to carry this out, they’ll put the issue of an apology to the side for now.”