U.S., Europe aired concern over no Israel at Nagasaki A-bomb event

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Envoys of the United States and other Western nations sent a letter to Nagasaki in mid-July expressing concern over the city not inviting Israel to its peace ceremony on the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing by the United States, the document showed Wednesday as multiple ambassadors pulled out of the event.

The letter, dated July 19 and sent ahead of Nagasaki's formal decision, warned that if Israel was excluded, "it would become difficult for us to have high-level participation" in the event.

The envoys of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and the European Union said it "would result in placing Israel on the same level as countries such as Russia and Belarus," which have not been invited to the ceremony for a third consecutive year.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel will no longer attend the Nagasaki peace ceremony on Friday in response to the city not inviting Israel, a source familiar with the matter said the same day.

British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom also announced the previous day that she would be absent from the ceremony, as she disagreed with the decision by the southwestern city.

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki said on July 31 that the city had decided not to include Israel over fears that protests against the country's ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip could affect the ceremony's solemnity.

The U.S. Consulate Fukuoka said its Principal Officer Chuka Asike will represent the United States at the Nagasaki ceremony. Emanuel will instead attend a peace ceremony at Tokyo's Zojoji Temple on Friday, the U.S. Embassy said.

Hiroshima, which on Tuesday held its ceremony for the 79th anniversary of the city's atomic bombing, took a different approach from Nagasaki, allowing Israeli representation while not inviting Palestine on the grounds that it is neither a state recognized by the Japanese government nor a U.N. member.

The decision drew protests, including an event attended by around 100 people at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in the evening after the anniversary ceremony was held on the site.