"The President will make an historic visit to Hiroshima with Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe to highlight his continued commitment to pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," spokesman Josh Earnest said.
The announcement comes after months of rumours in the US and Japan that the President, a Nobel peace laureate, would make a visit to the city devastated in the final days of World War II.
Mr Obama will visit central Japan in late May for a Group of Seven summit. Before that, he will head to Vietnam, the White House said.