Ambassadors of G6 countries and the European Union sent a letter of concern to Nagasaki for not inviting Israel to the 79^th Nagasaki Peace Ceremony commemorating the U.S. atomic bombing of the city in 1945.

The letter, addressed to Nagasaki Mayor Suzuki Shiro and signed by the ambassadors of the EU and G6 countries, arrived on July 25.

They expressed concern that not inviting Israel to the event would place the country in the same level with countries such as Russia and Belarus, and they said the decision was “regrettable and misleading.”

They also said if Israel was not invited, it would be difficult for the countries to send high-ranking officials to the ceremony.

The ambassadors of countries such as the U,S., the U.K., France and Italy have indicated their intention to be absent.

Nagasaki has not invited Russia for three consecutive years due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

This year, the city also decided not to invite Israel due to its continued conflict in the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories.

S/ Suzuki Shiro, Nagasaki Mayor: The decision was not based on political considerations. It is motivated by a desire to conduct the ceremony smoothly in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere.

Mayor Suzuki had reportedly sought understanding from the people concerned including the G6, the EU and Israel after receiving the letter.

Regarding the ambassadors’ intentions to be absent from the ceremony, Tanaka Shigemitsu, chairman of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, said, “If they do not want to come that is fine.”

On the other hand, one of the hibakusha, A-bomb survivors, said that they wanted the participants to attend regardless of the circumstances of war in their countries.

Ambassadors from a record 101 countries and regions are scheduled to attend the peace memorial ceremony on August 9.