Countries Boycott Nagasaki Ceremony After Israel Exclusion
Western nations protest political decision at event marking atomic bombing
The United States ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, will boycott the Nagasaki peace ceremony due to the exclusion of Israel from the annual commemoration of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city, the embassy said Thursday.
This year’s ceremony will take place Friday in Nagasaki Peace Park, where diplomats from over 100 countries will observe a minute of silence to mark the moment the U.S. dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan during World War II.
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters last week that Israel would be excluded due to security concerns, despite warnings from Western nations that it could have implications for their own ambassadors’ attendance.
“If Israel were excluded we would find it difficult to be represented at a high level at this event,” a July 19 letter to the mayor signed by ambassadors from France, Germany, Italy and the US, as well as representatives from Canada, the UK and the European Union, said.
Britain, Germany and Italy will also not send their ambassadors to Nagasaki, their embassies told CNN on Thursday. CNN has reached out to the remaining signatories for comment.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later, led to Japan’s unconditional surrender and the end of World War II. But they also killed hundreds of thousands of people, both instantly and in the months and years that followed.
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.
Nagasaki’s move is in contrast to that of Hiroshima, which hosted its ceremony on Tuesday and invited Israeli ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen, whose attendance was met with protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Both cities have been pressured by activists and bomb survivor groups to exclude Israel because of its bombardment of Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Israel began targeting the militant group Hamas after it came under attack on October 7.
Russia and Belarus were both excluded from the ceremonies over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and campaigners had hoped Nagasaki and Hiroshima would similarly shut out Israel.
On Thursday, a US embassy spokesperson told CNN that the ambassador had written to the mayor of Nagasaki on Tuesday, calling the decision to exclude Israel political and saying he would have no choice but to withdraw.
“He will instead participate in a peace ceremony at Tokyo’s Zojoji Temple, as well as observe a moment of silence at the embassy,” the spokesperson said. The temple is holding a memorial service on Friday.
The ambassador has instructed other US consulates in Japan to do the same, according to the embassy.
“The US government will be represented in Nagasaki by the Principal Officer from the Fukuoka Consulate,” the spokesperson said.
In an interview with CNN earlier this week, Cohen accused the mayor of Nagasaki of “fabricating” security concerns and of “hijacking this ceremony for his own political motivations.”
On Thursday, Mayor Suzuki reiterated that the decision was not politically motivated and said he was “saddened to hear” that the US ambassador would not be able to attend.
“The reason for this is to avoid unforeseen circumstances and ensure that the ceremony will be conducted smoothly and in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere,” he told reporters. “If it were due to political reasons, I personally believe countries in dispute should be invited, but unfortunately we are not able to invite those countries, considering the impact it would have on the ceremony.”
He said that officials would “continue to seek understanding by persistently explaining the situation.”
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the foreign ministry had been in contact with Nagasaki to explain the diplomatic implications of excluding Israel, but local authorities make the final decisions on events they host.
