Japan reacts to Trump's remarks about Hiroshima, Nagasaki atomic bombings

NHK

5 hours ago

Japanese officials and atomic bomb survivors have reacted to US President Donald Trump's remarks comparing the US attack on Iranian nuclear sites to the US bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Trump hailed the weekend operation to strike Iranian nuclear facilities at a news conference on Wednesday in the Netherlands, where he was attending a summit of NATO leaders.
Stressing that "monumental damage" was done to Iran, Trump said: "That hit ended the war. I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki. But that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war."
He made similar remarks at a separate news conference later that day.
Trump said, "When you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, that ended a war, too." He added, "This ended a war in a different way."
Atomic-bomb survivors: 'Unacceptable' comments
In Hiroshima, the leader of a group representing atomic bomb survivors, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024, reacted angrily to Trump's remarks.
Mimaki Toshiyuki, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, said he could not help but wonder why the US president made such comments, and called them "unacceptable" for people like him who had lost so many of their loved ones and struggled to rebuild their devastated homeland.
Mimaki said he strongly hopes Trump will visit Hiroshima. He also expressed hope that ambassadors who attend the city's annual atomic bomb memorial ceremony on August 6 will relay the devastation caused by the bomb to their respective leaders.
The Hiroshima City assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution at a plenary session calling for the peaceful resolution of all armed conflicts.
The resolution states that the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima cannot overlook nor accept remarks intended to justify the use of atomic bombs or that threaten the freedom of citizens.
The document also says that as this year marks the 80th anniversary of the bombing, the city assembly wants to reiterate its call for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of lasting world peace in line with the wishes of atomic bomb survivors.
The city assembly said it strongly urges peaceful resolutions from a humanitarian standpoint.
Nagasaki mayor hopes world leaders visit
Suzuki Shiro, the mayor of western Japan's Nagasaki City, told reporters that the use of nuclear weapons is "unacceptable" under any circumstances, given the tragic and inhumane consequences of the 1945 atomic bombings.
The mayor said he does not understand what Trump meant by the comments, but said that if they were aimed at justifying the atomic bomb attacks, Nagasaki would express its profound regret as one of the affected cities.
Suzuki said that against the backdrop of serious international situations, conveying the realities of the atomic bombings is essential, so that people will understand the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.
He expressed hope that Trump and other world leaders will visit Nagasaki to learn firsthand about the tragedies of the atomic bombing "with their own eyes, ears, and hearts."
Japanese government mentions remarks
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa said at a news conference that the atomic bombings of the two Japanese cities claimed the lives of many people and inflicted unspeakable suffering, creating the worst kind of humanitarian crisis.
Hayashi said the use of nuclear weapons with enormous destructive power is inconsistent with the spirit of humanitarianism, which is the ideological basis for international law.
Asked whether the government intends to lodge a protest, Hayashi said that Japan has repeatedly conveyed its basic ideas about the atomic bombings to the US side, and will continue to maintain close communication.