El embajador de EE.UU. en Japón se saltará la ceremonia de paz de Nagasaki después de que Israel fuera excluido
Este año, la ceremonia tendrá lugar en el Parque de la Paz de Nagasaki el viernes, donde diplomáticos de más de 100 países observarán un minuto de silencio para marcar el momento en que EE. UU. lanzó la segunda bomba atómica en Japón durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
El alcalde de Nagasaki, Shiro Suzuki, le dijo a los reporteros la semana pasada que Israel sería excluido debido a preocupaciones de seguridad, a pesar de las advertencias de naciones occidentales de que podría haber implicaciones para la asistencia de sus propios embajadores.
“Si Israel fuera excluido, se volvería difícil para nosotros tener una participación de alto nivel en este evento”, dijo una carta del 19 de julio dirigida al alcalde y firmada por embajadores de Francia, Alemania, Italia y EE. UU., así como el encargado de negocios de Canadá, el Reino Unido y la Unión Europea.
La embajada alemana le dijo a CNN el jueves que su embajador Clemens von Goetze no asistirá y enviará en su lugar a su ministro consejero. CNN ha tratado de confirmar la asistencia o no de los otros firmantes de la carta.
La bomba de Hiroshima del 6 de agosto de 1945 y la de Nagasaki tres días después llevaron a la rendición incondicional de Japón y pusieron fin a la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Pero también mató a decenas de miles de personas, tanto de manera instantánea como en los meses y años siguientes debido a la enfermedad por radiación.
Cada año, las dos ciudades realizan memoriales a los que asisten diplomáticos para promover la paz mundial y la idea de que nunca deben usarse armas nucleares.
La medida de Nagasaki contrasta con la de Hiroshima, que celebró su ceremonia el martes y invitó al embajador de Israel en Japón, Gilad Cohen, whose presence was met with protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Both cities had been under pressure from activists and bomb survivor groups to exclude Israel due to its bombardment of Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Israel began targeting militant group Hamas following the October 7 attack.
Russia and Belarus were both disinvited from the ceremonies over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and campaigners had hoped Nagasaki and Hiroshima would similarly exclude Israel.
On Thursday, a US embassy spokesperson told CNN the ambassador wrote to the Nagasaki mayor on Tuesday, calling the decision to exclude Israel political and saying he would be left with no other choice but to pull out.
The US embassy also said Emanuel’s absence can be explained by the “letter that like-minded G6 and EU ambassadors sent to the Nagasaki mayor.”
“He will attend a peace ceremony at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo in addition to holding a moment of silence at the embassy,” the spokesperson said. The temple holds a memorial service on Friday.
The ambassador had directed other US consulates in Japan to do the same, except for the outpost in Fukuoka, located in the same Kyushu prefecture as Nagasaki, according to the embassy.
“The US government will be represented at Nagasaki by the Principal Officer of Consulate Fukuoka,” the spokesperson said.
In an interview with CNN earlier this week, Cohen accused the Nagasaki mayor of “inventing” security fears and “hijacking this ceremony for his political motivations.”
On Thursday, Mayor Suzuki reiterated that the decision was unrelated to politics, and said he was “sorry to hear” the US ambassador was unable to attend.
“The reason for this is to avoid unforeseen circumstances and to ensure that the ceremony will be conducted smoothly and in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere,” he told reporters.
“If it was for political reasons, I personally believe that countries in a dispute should be invited, but unfortunately we cannot invite such countries considering the impact it would have on the ceremony.”
He said the authorities would “continue to seek their understanding by persistently explaining the situation.”
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the foreign affairs ministry had been in touch with Nagasaki to explain international affairs, but local authorities make ultimate decisions on events they organize.
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the United States, and representatives from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union expressed concern in a letter about Israel's exclusion, stating that it could impact the attendance of their own ambassadors. The bombing of Nagasaki, like Hiroshima, led to severe losses and promotes annual memorials for global peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
