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Foreign media: Because Israel was not invited, the US and British ambassadors to Japan will not attend the commemoration of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki

2024-08-07

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[Global Times Report] According to reports from AFP and other media, the US and British embassies in Japan said on the 6th that the US and British ambassadors to Japan will not attend the commemorative activities related to the 79th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki because the city government did not invite Israel to participate in the commemorative activities.

According to AFP, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Japan told the media that "the mayor of Nagasaki's decision not to invite the Israeli ambassador politicized the event," and that US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel would not attend the commemoration. The report said that the British Embassy in Japan said that British Ambassador to Japan Longbottom would not attend the commemoration in Nagasaki either.

Emanuel, data map, source: US media

The report added that the US and British embassies in Japan also said that the United States and Britain will send lower-level diplomats respectively to attend the commemorative activities.

Longbottom, data map, source: Japanese media

The report also said that a spokesman for the French Embassy in Japan told AFP that "the decision not to invite Israeli representatives is regrettable" and that the "number two person in charge" of the French embassy will attend the commemorative event.

According to previous reports from Kyodo News and other media, Shiro Suzuki, the mayor of Nagasaki, Japan, said at a press conference on July 31 that Israel would not be invited to participate in the city's atomic bomb commemoration activities to be held in August. He also said that the "decision" not to invite Israel was "not made for political reasons, but based on our hope that the commemoration activities can be held smoothly in a solemn atmosphere." Gerard Cohen, the Israeli ambassador to Japan, posted on the social media X that day that Shiro Suzuki's decision was "regrettable" and "sent the wrong message to the world."

According to Xinhua News Agency, in order to force Japan, which launched the war of aggression, to surrender as soon as possible, the US military dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. For a long time, Japan has portrayed itself as a "victim" of World War II, especially nuclear explosions, but rarely mentioned the historical background of the atomic bombing.