US ambassador to Japan to skip A-bomb memorial service in Nagasaki because Israel was not invited

Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Japan has decided to skip this year’s atomic bombing memorial service in Nagasaki after Israel was not invited. The U.S. Embassy says Ambassador Rahm Emanuel will not attend Friday’s event because it was “politicized” by Nagasaki’s decision to exclude Israel. It says he will instead honor the victims of the Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing at a ceremony at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Israel was invited to the memorial service in Hiroshima on Tuesday for the victims of its atomic bombing. But Nagasaki’s mayor said Israel was not invited to his city’s ceremony to avoid possible protests and violence over the war in Gaza. On Thursday, Mayor Shiro Suzuki said he stands by his decision.