The bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, resulted in 74,000 deaths, including many from subsequent radiation exposure. This followed the Hiroshima bombing three days earlier, which killed 140,000 people. Japan announced its World War II surrender on August 15, 1945…reports Asian Lite News
Nagasaki’s mayor expressed disappointment Thursday over the decision by US and British ambassadors to skip the ceremony marking the 1945 atomic bombing of the city, attributing their absence to the exclusion of Israel from the event. Despite this, Mayor Shiro Suzuki defended the choice not to invite Israel, citing concerns about potential protests related to the Gaza conflict and maintaining the ceremony’s peaceful and solemn atmosphere.
“It is unfortunate that they have communicated to us that their ambassadors are not able to attend,” Suzuki told reporters. He emphasised that the decision was made not for political reasons.
The bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, resulted in 74,000 deaths, including many from subsequent radiation exposure. This followed the Hiroshima bombing three days earlier, which killed 140,000 people. Japan announced its World War II surrender on August 15, 1945.
While the United States, Britain, France, Italy, the European Union, and reportedly Canada and Australia are sending diplomats below ambassador level, only the US and British embassies cited Nagasaki’s decision not to include Israel’s ambassador Gilad Cohen as the reason for their absence. A source indicated that Italy’s decision was also influenced by this issue.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated that the US believes the Israeli ambassador should have been invited alongside other diplomats, stressing that no country should be excluded. “Our respect for Japan and this anniversary goes beyond the ambassador not attending one event,” Miller said.
US Ambassador Rahm Emanuel will attend a separate commemoration in Tokyo, as former President Obama’s chief of staff. John Roos, appointed by Obama, was the first US representative to attend both Hiroshima and Nagasaki ceremonies in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Obama himself visited Hiroshima in 2016. The US has never apologized for the bombings, the only instances of nuclear attacks in history.
The British embassy criticised the exclusion of Israel, likening it to an “unfortunate and misleading equivalency” with Russia and Belarus, which were also not invited. Germany and France echoed similar sentiments, with the French embassy calling Suzuki’s decision “regrettable and questionable.”
Israeli Ambassador Gilad Cohen, who attended a memorial in Hiroshima earlier in the week, condemned the Nagasaki decision as sending the “wrong message” to the world. On Thursday, Cohen thanked countries supporting Israel and opposing its exclusion from the ceremony, expressing gratitude on X.
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