Diplomats to Japan from the other G7 countries – the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France and Italy – refused to attend Friday’s ( August 9 ) peace ceremony in Nagasaki because the Israeli embassy had not been invited. Russia and Belarus were the only other nations that were not invited.
Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel reportedly opted not to attend because the occasion had been “politicized,” according to the US Embassy in Tokyo. By making front-page information around the world, he ensured that it was.
Julia Longbottom, the American embassy to Japan, claimed that eliminating Israel led to “unfortunate and misleading equivalence with Russia and Belarus.
This was not sudden. If Israel were to be omitted from the event, the ministers of the six nations and the European Union wrote a letter to Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki on July 19. The letter stated that it would be hard for them to “have high-level contribution” at the celebration.
Mayor Suzuki stated to the media that the Jewish ambassador’s absence was hardly due to political reasons. We wanted to have a quiet and solemn ceremony. It was a tough decision”.
In a letter to Suzuki, Ambassador Emanuel stated that” I believe your decision is a social one and has nothing to do with the security and safety of the occasion, especially given the caliber of visitors.”
The G7 ministers did enter the peace meeting held in Hiroshima next Tuesday, to which Israel was, but Russia and Belarus were never, invited. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents a city in Hiroshima, addressed both situations.
Because the city of Nagasaki hosted the occasion, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi informed the press that the Chinese government is” never in a position to make any comments” on Mayor Suzuki’s choice.
Mayor Suzuki demanded that the Chinese government mark and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in an address delivered in Nagasaki on Friday night.
You may face the reality that the very presence of nuclear weapons has increased the threat to humanity, according to officials of the nuclear state and state under the nuclear umbrella. Japan, of course, is one of those claims said to be protected by the US radioactive umbrella.
” We also call for your speech and diplomatic work”, he continued,” to explore a path toward peaceful solutions, no matter how difficult the way is, instead of choosing a course toward arms development or threats of power”.
We are now in a critical position because the critical rule that we have adhered to has increased as a result of confusion about when the Russian invasion of Ukraine will stop and growing worry about the Middle East’s growing armed conflict.
Suzuki added that Japan should direct the effort to end conflicts and encourage peace in Northeast Asia, because reported by Japan’s Kyodo information agency.
The issue is not to eliminate these nations, according to Akira Kawasaki, a member of the Chinese non-governmental organization Peace Boat’s executive committee, but it is also important that Russia and Belarus are violating worldwide law with regard to Ukraine and Israel are doing so in Gaza. Rather, we should ask them. This service is intended to reflect on peace.
Kawasaki, who is also affiliated with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons ( ICAN), added,” It would be different if these]G7] countries had abolished nuclear weapons and committed to true peace. However, they also possess nuclear weapons, and the U. S. has not even apologized for using them. These nations should really consider the significance of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima rites, in my opinion.
The celebration of America’s molecular attacks of Japan on August 6 and 9 was commemorated at the ceremonies held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In Nagasaki, a moment of silence was observed at 11: 02 am, when the atomic bomb codenamed” Large Man” exploded over the area.
In Hiroshima, marchers held a Individual’s Other Peace Memorial Ceremony for Palestine, to which Arab Ambassador Waleed Siam delivered this information:” We express our despair, disappointment and frustration that the town of Hiroshima, a symbol of harmony, has chosen to be hijacked by the rulers and supporters, while excluding the victims. Without our voices, the invitation [extended to Israel ] undermined the very foundation of justice that Hiroshima stands for.
Presumably, this is the kind of thing that Nagasaki Mayor Suzuki was trying to avoid. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki peace ceremonies should be viewed as being above current politics, much like the Olympics. But like the Olympics, they are n’t.
More than 200, 000 people, most of them civilians, are believed to have been killed by the two atomic bombs, while many others were badly burned and suffered from radiation sickness for years after the attacks. According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, there were 106, 825 officially recognized survivors as of March 2024.
The US’s generally accepted justification for dropping the atomic bombs is that they helped save thousands of soldiers ‘ lives by accelerating the end of the conflict.
General Douglas MacArthur predicted that 94, 250 men would die or be hurt in battle during the planned invasion of the island of Kyushu on November 1, 1945, while another 12, 600 would suffer injuries or accidents in the first three months.
In the worst-case scenario, with three landings as opposed to one and a longer campaign, casualties were estimated to be close to 500,000. However, the invasion did not occur because Japan made its surrender announcement on August 15.
Nevertheless, General Dwight Eisenhower wrote in his memoirs that “…Japan was already defeated … dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary”.
In his memoirs, Admiral William Leahy, president Truman’s chief of staff, wrote that “our war against Japan was without significant benefit” from the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese were already at war with Japan.
The atomic bomb had no connection to the end of the war, according to Air Force General Curtis LeMay, who was in charge of Tokyo’s fire-bombing.
The Nation published” The War Was Won Before Hiroshima – And the Generals Who Dropped the Bomb Knew It,” which includes these and other quotations. How many people are aware of that right now?
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