Дата публикации: 13.08.2024
Scott Foster Asia Times
Ambassadors to Japan from the other G7 nations – the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France and Italy – refused to attend Friday’s (August 9) peace ceremony in Nagasaki because the Israeli ambassador had not been invited. The only other countries not invited were Russia and Belarus.
According to the US Embassy in Tokyo, Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel decided against attending because the event had been “politicized.” By making front-page news around the world, he ensured that it was.
British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom said that leaving out Israel created “an unfortunate and misleading equivalency with Russia and Belarus.”
This was not unexpected. On July 19, the ambassadors of the six countries and the European Union sent a letter to Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki stating that it would be difficult for them “to have high-level participation” at the event if Israel was excluded.
Mayor Suzuki told the press that “It was not due to political reasons that we did not invite the Israeli ambassador. We wanted to conduct the ceremony smoothly in a peaceful and solemn manner. It was a difficult decision.”
According to media reports, Ambassador Emanuel wrote Suzuki a letter in which he stated that “I believe your decision is a political one and has nothing to do with the security and safety of the event, especially in light of the caliber of attendees.”
The G7 ambassadors did attend the peace ceremony held in Hiroshima last Tuesday, to which Israel was, but Russia and Belarus were not, invited. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents a district in Hiroshima, addressed both events.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told the news media that the Japanese government is “not in a position to make any comments” on Mayor Suzuki’s decision because the event was hosted by the city of Nagasaki.
In his address in Nagasaki on Friday morning, Mayor Suzuki demanded that the Japanese government sign and ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, stating that:
“Leaders of the nuclear states and states under the nuclear umbrella, you must face up to the reality that the very existence of nuclear weapons has posed an increasing threat to humankind.” Japan, of course, is one of those states said to be protected by the US nuclear umbrella.
“We also call for your dialogue and diplomatic efforts,” he continued, “to explore a path toward peaceful solutions, no matter how difficult the path is, instead of choosing a path toward arms expansion or threats of force.”
“Amid uncertainty about when the Russian invasion of Ukraine will come to an end and growing concern about the expansion of armed conflicts in the Middle East, we are currently facing a critical situation with the increased likelihood of the disappearance of the important norm that we have conformed to thus far.”
As reported by Japan’s Kyodo news agency, Suzuki also said that Japan must take the lead in seeking to reduce tensions and promote disarmament in Northeast Asia.
Akira Kawasaki, an executive committee member of the Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO) Peace Boat, told the press, “While it is a significant issue that Russia and Belarus are violating international law regarding Ukraine, or that Israel is violating international law in Gaza, the solution is not to exclude these countries. Instead, we should invite them. The purpose of this ceremony is to contemplate 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 still possess nuclear weapons, and the U.S. has not even apologized for using them. I think these countries should seriously face the gravity of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima ceremonies.”
The ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the 79th anniversary of America’s atomic bombings of Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945. In Nagasaki, a moment of silence was observed at 11:02 am, when the atomic bomb codenamed “Fat Man” exploded over the city.
In Hiroshima, protestors held a Citizen’s Alternative Peace Memorial Ceremony for Palestine, to which Palestinian Ambassador Waleed Siam delivered this message: “We express our horror, disappointment and frustration that the city of Hiroshima, a symbol of peace, has chosen to be hijacked by the oppressors and supporters, while excluding the victims. The invitation [extended to Israel] perpetuated our suffering in the absence of our voices, undermining the very principle of justice that Hiroshima stands for.”
Presumably, this is the kind of thing that Nagasaki Mayor Suzuki was trying to avoid. It can be said that, like the Olympics, the peace ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki should be kept above current politics. But like the Olympics, they aren’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.
In the US, the commonly accepted justification for dropping the atomic bombs is that, by hastening the end of the war, they saved the lives of thousands of soldiers.
In an invasion of the island of Kyushu planned for November 1, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur estimated that 94,250 men would be killed or injured in battle while another 12,600 would fall victim to accidents or disease in the first three months.
In a worst-case scenario – three landings rather than one and a longer campaign – estimates of casualties approached 500,000. But Japan announced its surrender on August 15 and the invasion never took place.
Nevertheless, General Dwight Eisenhower wrote in his memoirs that “…Japan was already defeated… dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary.”
Admiral William Leahy, President Truman’s chief of staff, wrote in his memoirs that “…the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender.”
Air Force General Curtis LeMay, who commanded the fire-bombing of Tokyo, said “the atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war at all.”
These and other quotes can be found in “The War Was Won Before Hiroshima – And the Generals Who Dropped the Bomb Knew It,” published in The Nation on August 6, 2015. How many people are aware of that today?
