U.S., other Western ambassadors to skip Nagasaki memorial service

Ambassadors from the United States, Britain and several other Western countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Australia and Canada, will miss Friday’s Nagasaki peace ceremony because Israel was not invited. The countries are expected to send lower-level envoys. The ceremony marks the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki announced last week that Israel would not send representatives to the event. He said this was due to concerns about security risks and possible chaos.

Mayor says Israel snub ‘not based on political judgment’

not him explain“Based on political judgment, the ceremony was intended to be held in a peaceful and solemn manner to comfort the victims of the atomic bomb.” Unsurprisingly, Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen disagreed with the decision. In a statement published on social media, he wrote: “Israel is suffering from a brutal attack by terrorist organizations. There is no comparison with any other conflict. Any attempt to present it in other ways is a distortion of reality.”

Last month, envoys from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and the European Union wrote to Nagasaki saying that if Israel was excluded, “it would be difficult for us to send high-level participation” in the event.

Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, will honor the victims of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki at a ceremony at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo. He said in a letter to Mayor Suzuki wrote“I am sure that your decision was made for political reasons and had nothing to do with the safety of the event, especially given the quality of those in attendance. I am also sure that you are aware that I will not be the only ambassador who will not attend this year’s ceremony in Nagasaki for similar reasons and concerns.”

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum | Image credit: Zaru Rosario via Shutterstock

Israeli ambassador attends Hiroshima memorial ceremony

Cohen was invited to attend the Hiroshima peace ceremony on Tuesday. NHK cameras focused on him, playing the role of Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki Talking about global conflict. “We are still look wars All over the world,” he explain“The strong triumph over the weak, and the weak are trampled upon… The major powers, which are supposed to uphold the international order established by the United Nations, blatantly violate international law, attempt to change the status quo by force, and invade other countries. This has been a reality for mankind since prehistoric times.”

Russia and Belarus were banned from the event for the third consecutive year due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

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