U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel will skip this year’s atomic bombing memorial service in Nagasaki because Israel was not invited, the embassy said Wednesday. Emanuel will not attend the event on Friday because it was “politicized” by Nagasaki’s decision not to invite Israel, the embassy said. He will instead honor the victims of the Nagasaki atomic bombing at a ceremony at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, it said. An atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city, killing 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II and the country’s nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.
Quick Read
- US ambassador to Japan to skip A-bomb memorial service in Nagasaki because Israel was not invited: Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, will not attend the atomic bombing memorial service in Nagasaki on Friday, as the city did not invite Israel.
- Nagasaki’s decision based on security concerns: Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki stated that Israel was not invited due to fears of potential protests, sabotage, or attacks, aiming to maintain a peaceful and solemn atmosphere for the ceremony.
- Contrasting invitations in Hiroshima: While Hiroshima included the Israeli ambassador to Japan among 50,000 attendees at its memorial ceremony, Nagasaki chose not to invite Israel due to the escalating Middle East conflict.
- Lower-ranking US and G7 representation: A U.S. Consulate official in Fukuoka will represent the United States at the Nagasaki event, with other G7 nations and the EU also expected to send lower-ranking envoys.
- Joint letter from G7 envoys: Envoys from G7 nations expressed concern over Israel’s exclusion in a joint letter, urging Nagasaki to invite Israel to uphold the universal message of the ceremony and warning that the exclusion complicates high-level participation.
- British ambassador to Japan also skipping Nagasaki ceremony: British Ambassador Julia Longbottom, who attended the Hiroshima memorial, plans to skip the Nagasaki event due to the exclusion of Israel, fearing it sends the wrong message.
The Associated Press has the story:
US ambassador to Japan to skip A-bomb memorial service in Nagasaki because Israel was not invited
Newslooks- TOKYO (AP) —
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel will skip this year’s atomic bombing memorial service in Nagasaki because Israel was not invited, the embassy said Wednesday. Emanuel will not attend the event on Friday because it was “politicized” by Nagasaki’s decision not to invite Israel, the embassy said. He will instead honor the victims of the Nagasaki atomic bombing at a ceremony at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, it said. An atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city, killing 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II and the country’s nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki had indicated his reluctance in June to invite Israel, noting the escalating conflict in the Middle East. He announced last week that Israel was not invited because of concern over “possible unforeseen situations” such as protests, sabotage or attacks on attendants. Nagasaki hoped to honor the atomic bomb victims “in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere,” he said. Suzuki said he made the decision based on “various developments in the international community in response to the ongoing situation in the Middle East” that suggested a possible risk that the ceremony would be disturbed.
In contrast, Hiroshima invited the Israeli ambassador to Japan to its memorial ceremony on Tuesday among 50,000 attendees who included Emanuel and other envoys, though Palestinian representatives were not invited. Nagasaki officials said they were told that an official of the U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka will represent the United States at Friday’s ceremony. Five other Group of Seven nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. — and the European Union are also expected to send lower-ranking envoys to Nagasaki.
Envoys from those nations signed a joint letter expressing their shared concern about Israel’s exclusion, saying treating the country on the same level as Russia and Belarus — the only other countries not invited — would be misleading. The envoys urged Nagasaki to reverse the decision and invite Israel to preserve the universal message of the city’s ceremony. The exclusion of Israel would make their “high-level participation” difficult, they said.
British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom, who attended the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Tuesday, told Japanese media that she planned to skip the Nagasaki ceremony because the city’s decision to exclude Israel could send a wrong message.
