Japanese authorities announced last June that Israel, which is designated a terrorist state, will not be invited to the August 9 commemoration ceremony marking the anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Nagasaki Mayor Suzuki Shiro said they made the decision out of concern that the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the growing public reaction to the attacks could negatively impact the holding of the commemoration ceremony.
Reaction of Western Countries
This decision by Japan disturbed Western countries, which were seen as supporters of the massacre. The Western ambassadors responded to this decision, which Suzuki announced in June, days before the commemoration ceremony. Ambassadors of the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Australia and CanadaThey decided not to attend the commemoration ceremony on Friday because Israel was not invited.
Participation of Ambassadors
According to reports in the Japanese press, the US Ambassador to Tokyo, Rahm Israel Emanuel, and the British Ambassador to Tokyo, Julia Longbottom, have officially announced that they will not attend the commemoration ceremony. Longbottom emphasized that he will not attend this important event to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombing because the Nagasaki administration did not invite Israel. Longbottom, who previously attended the ceremony in Hiroshima, stated that “Israel exercised its right to self-defense” and argued that it would be misleading to equate the country with Russia.
Emanuel also stated that although he attended the ceremony in Hiroshima, he would not attend the commemoration event in Nagasaki, saying that he “did not want to politicize such an event.” It was noted that the ambassadors who would not attend the commemoration in Nagasaki would be represented by lower-ranking diplomats.
Statements by the Mayor of Nagasaki
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki told Kyodo News that the Western ambassadors’ decision not to attend the ceremony was “unfortunate.” In a letter sent to the Nagasaki government in mid-July, representatives from the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and the European Union said that if Israel did not attend, “it would be difficult for them to ensure high-level participation” in the ceremony.
Suzuki said the decision not to invite Israel was based on security concerns that could arise from possible protests against its participation. He stressed that the decision was not made for political reasons and that no further changes would be made. Suzuki said that the aging atomic bomb victims had made great efforts to attend the commemoration ceremony, and that they hoped that the ceremony would be held without any problems.
A Historical Reminder
What happened? On August 6, 1945, the US dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, destroying 90 percent of the city and killing 80,000 people at first. It is reported that at least 40,000 people were killed immediately in the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki three days later. It is estimated that approximately 110,000 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians, lost their lives due to the after-effects of the atomic bomb. Deaths from radiation-related illnesses continued in the region in the months and years that followed.
