(AFP) – The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have invited US President Donald Trump to visit this year for the 80th anniversary of the World War II atomic bombings, officials said Wednesday. In a joint letter to Trump, the mayors urge him to come and “listen to the testimonies of the hibakusha (bomb survivors) in person, take to heart their fervent wish for peace, and deepen your understanding of the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.”
“It is our sincere hope that you will break away from the notion of nuclear reliance and take strong leadership in the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of lasting world peace,” said the January 28 letter shared with AFP on Wednesday. The United States dropped an atomic bomb on each Japanese city on August 6 and 9, 1945 — the only times nuclear weapons have been used in warfare. Days later, Japan surrendered.
Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and some 74,000 others in Nagasaki, including many who survived the explosions but died later from radiation exposure. Washington has never apologised for the bombings. US ambassador John Roos in 2010 became the first US representative to attend the annual Hiroshima commemoration and went to the Nagasaki event two years later. Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to come to Hiroshima in 2016, followed by Joe Biden in 2023.
Trump did not make the trip during his first term, despite the two mayors inviting him according to Japanese media. Last year, Nagasaki’s mayor Shiro Suzuki sparked a furore by not inviting Israel’s ambassador to the ceremony. Suzuki insisted the decision was “not political” but to avoid possible protests related to the Gaza conflict. The ambassadors of the US, Israel, Britain, and others snubbed the ceremony in protest and attended a smaller memorial event in Tokyo instead.
Last year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors pushing for a nuclear weapons ban.
© 2024 AFP
