US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel will sit out Nagasaki\u2019s peace ceremony over Israel\u2019s exclusion from the annual commemoration of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city, the embassy said. <\/p>\n
This year\u2019s ceremony will take place at Nagasaki Peace Park on Friday, where diplomats from more than 100 countries will observe a minute of silence to mark the moment the US dropped the second atomic bomb in Japan during World War II. <\/p>\n
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters last week that Israel would be excluded due to security concerns, despite warnings from Western nations that there could be implications for the attendance of their own ambassadors. <\/p>\n
\u201cShould Israel be excluded, it would become difficult for us to have high-level participation in this event,\u201d said a July 19 letter to the mayor signed by ambassadors from France, Germany, Italy and the US, as well as the charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires from Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. <\/p>\n
The bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later led to Japan\u2019s unconditional surrender and brought an end to World War II. But it also killed tens of thousands of people, both instantly and in the months and years to come due to radiation sickness. <\/p>\n
Each year the two cities hold memorials attended by diplomats to promote global peace and the idea that nuclear weapons must never be used again. <\/p>\n
The move by Nagasaki contrasts with that of Hiroshima, which hosted its ceremony on Tuesday and invited Israeli ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen, whose presence was met with protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators. <\/p>\n
Both cities had been under pressure from activists and bomb survivor groups to exclude Israel due to its bombardment of Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Israel began targeting militant group Hamas following the October 7 attack. <\/p>\n
Russia and Belarus were both disinvited from the ceremonies over Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and campaigners had hoped Nagasaki and Hiroshima would similarly exclude Israel. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe will attend a peace ceremony at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo in addition to holding a moment of silence at the embassy,\u201d the spokesperson said. The temple holds a memorial service on Friday. <\/p>\n
The ambassador had directed other US consulates in Japan to do the same, according to the embassy. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe US government will be represented at Nagasaki by the Principal Officer of Consulate Fukuoka,\u201d the spokesperson said. <\/p>\n
On Thursday, Mayor Suzuki reiterated that the decision was unrelated to politics, and said he was \u201csorry to hear\u201d the US ambassador was unable to attend. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason for this is to avoid unforeseen circumstances and to ensure that the ceremony will be conducted smoothly and in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere,\u201d he told reporters. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf it was for political reasons, I personally believe that countries in a dispute should be invited, but unfortunately we cannot invite such countries considering the impact it would have on the ceremony.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said the authorities would \u201ccontinue to seek their understanding by persistently explaining the situation.\u201d <\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the foreign affairs ministry had been in touch with Nagasaki to explain international affairs, but local authorities make ultimate decisions on events they organize. <\/p>\n
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