Russia, Belarus Not Invited By Nagasaki, Hiroshima To Annual Memorial Ceremony - Reports

Authorities in the Japanese prefecture of Nagasaki will follow example of Hiroshima to not invite representatives of Russia and Belarus to the annual ceremony commemorating victims of US atomic bombing on August 6, Japanese media reported on Thursday

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2022) Authorities in the Japanese prefecture of Nagasaki will follow example of Hiroshima to not invite representatives of Russia and Belarus to the annual ceremony commemorating victims of US atomic bombing on August 6, Japanese media reported on Thursday.

The Nagasaki authorities will not be sending out invitations to the ambassadors of Belarus and Russia as was the practice every year, the Kyodo news agency said.

Hiroshima, another Japanese prefecture that was targeted by US atomic bombing in August 1945, announced earlier this week that it would not invite the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus to the commemorative ceremony. Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin confirmed the non-invitation on Wednesday.

Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday, citing Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, that the prefecture was initially going to invite Russia but changed its mind after consulting with the central government.

In 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6 and August 9, respectively. One atomic bomb code-named "Little Boy" killed about 140,000 residents of Hiroshima, while another, called "Fat Man," claimed the lives of some 70,000 people in Nagasaki. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.