Hiroshima, the Japanese city devastated by a US atomic bomb in 1945, is at the center of a growing controversy after local officials dismissed calls to disinvite Israel from its annual ceremony promoting world peace as war rages in Gaza.
Every year on August 6, Hiroshima gathers foreign officials, along with locals, in a minute of silence at 8:15 a.m. to mark the exact moment the bomb dropped, killing tens of thousands of people and leading to the end of World War II.
Some activists and atomic bomb survivors’ groups say the ceremony is no place for Israel, which is pounding Gaza with strikes as it seeks to eradicate Hamas in response to the Palestinian militant group’s devastating attack on October 7 last year.
They say the Hiroshima city government should exclude Israel from this year’s ceremony, as it has Russia and Belarus for the past two years over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Hiroshima authorities say they have no intention of excluding Israel.
"It is not a double standard. Our policy is to invite all countries. However, Russia and Belarus are exceptions due to the invasion of Ukraine," a Hiroshima city government spokesperson told CNN.
"Russia and Belarus are not invited in order to ensure the ceremony goes smoothly."
Authorities in Nagasaki, the Japanese city hit by an atomic bomb just days after Hiroshima, told CNN they haven’t decided whether to invite Israel to their peace ceremony on August 9.
Israel’s war in Gaza may "prevent the smooth execution of the ceremony," they said, stressing the move was not a gesture of protest but a practical consideration.
Of the two ceremonies, Hiroshima’s is the largest with representatives from 115 countries and the European Union set to attend this year.
Envoys from Russia and Belarus haven’t attended since Hiroshima excluded them in 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February that year. Russia used Belarus as one of the launch pads for its assault and later moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons there.
This year’s Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony takes place against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, where Israel’s bombardment has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced nearly the entire enclave’s more than 2 million people, who now face severe shortages of food, shelter, water and medical supplies.