Japan’s atom-bombed cities rebuke Israel from ‘moral high ground’

As they prepare to mark the 79th anniversary of their atomic bombing, Hiroshima and Nagasaki send Israel a symbolic message on the horrors of war

Reading Time:3 minutes

A candelit procession in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park last year to commemorate the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 8:00am, 6 Jun 2024Updated: 9:06am, 6 Jun 2024

Israel’s ambassador to Japan is typically invited to Nagasaki’s annual ceremony marking the anniversary of its atomic bombing.

But this year, the city’s mayor is withholding the invitation, in a move analysts say carries symbolic weight that reflects Nagasaki’s “moral high ground” as a site of nuclear devastation, as well as the increasingly negative views of Israel held by the Japanese public.

Mayor Shiro Suzuki is also sending a letter to the Israeli embassy calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, amid a growing divergence between Japanese public opinion on Israel and the more cautious stance taken by the government.

“Given the critical humanitarian situation in Gaza, and public opinion in the international community, there are concerns about the risk of unexpected incidents during the ceremony,” Suzuki said on Monday.

These cities have the moral high ground, if you like, because of what their residents went through in 1945

Toshimitsu Shigemura, Japanese academic

On August 9, Nagasaki will mark the 79th anniversary of its atomic bombing. Around 74,000 people died on that day in 1945 after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city – three days after doing the same to Hiroshima, where 140,000 people died – ending World War II.