G7 Ambassadors to Skip Atomic Bomb Ceremony in Nagasaki; Joint Letter Cites Decision to Not Invite Israel as Reason

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:36 JST, August 8, 2024

The ambassadors from Japan’s fellow members of the Group of Seven will not attend the annual ceremony in Nagasaki on Friday marking the U.S. atomic bombing of the city, it has been learned.

Representatives of the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada told The Yomiuri Shimbun that the decision was prompted by the fact that Israel was not invited to the ceremony. Counselors and consuls from the six countries will attend instead.

The U.S. Embassy in Japan said its ambassador did not want the ceremony to be politicized.

A joint letter sent by the six ambassadors, dated July 19, notes that Nagasaki also did not invite Russia, which has continued its aggression against Ukraine, or Belarus, which supports Russia.

The letter said it was unfortunate and misleading to put Israel on the same level as those two countries. If the city was not going to invite Israel, top officials from the six countries would find it difficult to attend the ceremony, it said.

The city announced on July 31 that it had officially decided not to invite Israel due to the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip caused by Israeli military attacks. International opinion was also cited as a factor.

In contrast, the city sent an invitation to the Permanent General Mission of Palestine in Japan. A senior official of the mission will attend the ceremony.

“I made a difficult decision not for political reasons but to ensure the ceremony can be conducted peacefully,” Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki said Thursday.

Tamashii Honda, 80, chairperson of the association of Nagasaki atomic bomb bereaved families, said: “I wanted the ambassadors to visit the site of the atomic bombing amid today’s ongoing wars, and experience Nagasaki’s wish for peace. It’s regrettable that the ambassadors are skipping the ceremony.”

Hiroshima municipal government invited Israel to the peace memorial ceremony it held on Tuesday, which was attended by ambassadors to Japan from countries including the United States and Britain. According to the city, it received about 320 emails and letters regarding Israel’s participation, most of which were critical.