Nagasaki to Invite All Countries, Regions to 80th Anniversary Peace Ceremony

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:01 JST, May 9, 2025

NAGASAKI — The city of Nagasaki has announced it will invite representatives from all 157 countries and regions that have embassies or other diplomatic missions in Japan and the Delegation of the EU to Japan to a peace ceremony on Aug. 9, which marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

Last year, the city did not invite Israel to the ceremony because of its continuing offensive in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, drawing backlash from countries including the United States. As a result, the ambassadors from six of the Group of Seven industrialized nations —　the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Canada — along with the EU were absent from the ceremony. The city’s decision this year was closely watched.

From 2014, the city has, in principle, sent invitations to all ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives from countries and regions with embassies or diplomatic missions in Japan. However, the city has not invited Russia and Belarus since 2022 due to the former’s aggression against Ukraine and the latter’s support for Russia, citing the risk of unforeseen circumstances.