Tokyo.- The ambassador of Russia in Japan, Nikolay Nozdrev, plans to attend the commemorative ceremony on August 9 for the victims of the nuclear bombing of the city of Nagasaki, which will mark the first participation of a Russian envoy in the event since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022.
Nozdrev has confirmed that the western Japanese city has invited him to the ceremony for the 80th anniversary of the event, from which representatives of his country had been vetoed since the beginning of the conflict and amid threats of the use of atomic weapons during it, and has shown his intention to attend, according to information published by the Russian news agency Tass.
The local government of Nagasaki had refrained from inviting the ambassadors of Russia and its ally and neighbor Belarus since 2022.
Last year, Nagasaki also decided not to invite the representative of Israel due to its offensive on the Gaza Strip, an action to which the ambassadors of the remaining six G7 members (Germany, Canada, United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom), as well as the European Union (EU), decided not to attend.
In view of this situation, the Nagasaki government announced in May that representatives from all 157 diplomatic missions present in Japan, and from the EU, would be invited this 2025.
Regarding the pre-ceremony in the city of Hiroshima on August 6, coinciding with the date on which the first atomic bombing of a civilian population in history occurred by the American army, Nozdrev will not participate due to protocol particularities.
The local government does not send invitations to foreign attendees, but letters, leaving it to the discretion of each country and region to decide whether or not to attend its commemorative ceremony.
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