Nagasaki to invite Russia, Israel to A-bomb memorial event
NAGASAKI—In a break from last year's snubs, the city government here will invite Russia, Belarus and Israel to the annual Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony, Mayor Shiro Suzuki announced at a May 8 news conference.
'We'd like every country to gather for the ceremony in Nagasaki, where an atomic bomb was dropped, despite all the divisions,' Suzuki said.
The choice is a departure from the city's stance last year where the three were not invited. Israel's exclusion earned the city criticism and backlash from countries including the United States and Britain.
Both nations' ambassadors and those from four other major countries and the EU skipped the 2024 ceremony.
Each year, the city sends invitations to foreign diplomatic missions in Japan for its annual peace ceremony that is held on the Aug. 9 anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
However, since 2022 it has refrained from inviting Russia and Belarus because of the Russian invasion to Ukraine.
Israel was added to this list last year in light of its continued attacks on Gaza in Palestine; organizers were concerned about potential protests and other unpredictable risks during the ceremony.
Rahm Emanuel, then-U.S. ambassador to Japan, argued this was not the case and the snub was for political reasons rather than security risks.
Suzuki said the reason for this year's change was made based on his experience attending the third Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
The meeting of the committee was held at the U.N. headquarters in New York from April 28 to May 9.
Suzuki felt the international situation around realizing a world without nuclear weapons was "extremely severe" during the meeting.
'I want them to witness and feel, with their eyes, ears and hearts, the cruel and inhumane consequences of nuclear weapons in today's deeply divided world,' he said.
The city plans to invite a total of 157 countries and regions to this year's event. Bag checks and increased security are part of its risk management plan and it hopes to carry out the ceremony in a solemn and peaceful setting.
Hiroshima, which was bombed three days before Nagasaki, did not invite Russia and Belarus to its annual ceremony last year. The city was criticized for its "double standard" in choosing to welcome Israel.
This year, it is changing its system of extending "invitations" and will instead "notify" entities of the event.
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