Russia sent their representative to Hiroshima, and now the US will be represented at Nagasaki, 66 years after the dreadful event. Here's what Kyodo news reports:
U.S. to send first envoy to Nagasaki A-bomb rites
Kyodo
The U.S. will for the first time send a representative to Nagasaki's annual peace memorial ceremony Tuesday marking the 1945 atomic bombing of the city, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said Sunday.
"I am honored to be the first U.S. representative to attend the Peace Memorial in Nagasaki, and to express my respect for all the victims of World War II," Charge d'Affaires James Zumwalt said. "The United States looks forward to continuing to work with Japan to advance President (Barack) Obama's goal of realizing a world without nuclear weapons."
U.S. Ambassador John Roos, who visited Nagasaki twice last year, will not be in Japan due to "previously scheduled travel at the time of the ceremony" in Nagasaki, according to the embassy.
Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue welcomed the announcement, saying the U.S. move is "a step forward" toward creating a world without nuclear weapons.
He said he hoped Zumwalt will "pray for the people killed by the atomic bomb, speak with survivors and deepen understanding" of the lasting realities of the suffering.
Sakue Shimohira, a 76-year-old survivor, praised the decision. "For a long time we asked someone to represent (the U.S. government), but no one came until now," Shimohira said. "I respect this decision, which, I guess, needed some courage."
2011年8月8日月曜日
2011年8月6日土曜日
August 6
Until I read Eric Johnston's excellent exposition of the US campaign to get Japan to adopt nuclear energy, I never understood why US writers would deluge Japanese media with letters disparaging the annual memorial services for those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Even so, the services continue. This year, for the first time, there is a guest from a major nuclear power.
The Japan Times reports as follows:
The Russian ambassador to Japan, in Hiroshima for a ceremony to remember the annihilation of the city in 1945, pledged Friday to make sure nuclear calamities like the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the Fukushima No. 1 power plant accident never happen again.
"The nuclear crisis is a disaster by natural causes and Hiroshima is a disaster caused by humans. But there is something in common between them: We must make efforts to make sure a similar thing will never happen again," Mikhail Bely, 65, told reporters a day before the 66th anniversary of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing.
The ambassador from one of the nuclear weapon states is set to attend the peace memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima on Saturday, and in Nagasaki on Tuesday, for the first time. Bely became ambassador to Japan in 2007.
"Japan has memories of the (A-bomb) disaster . . . and their efforts to pass on such memories will be a big contribution to the movement to nuclear arms reductions," Bely said after visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
Even so, the services continue. This year, for the first time, there is a guest from a major nuclear power.
The Japan Times reports as follows:
The Russian ambassador to Japan, in Hiroshima for a ceremony to remember the annihilation of the city in 1945, pledged Friday to make sure nuclear calamities like the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the Fukushima No. 1 power plant accident never happen again.
"The nuclear crisis is a disaster by natural causes and Hiroshima is a disaster caused by humans. But there is something in common between them: We must make efforts to make sure a similar thing will never happen again," Mikhail Bely, 65, told reporters a day before the 66th anniversary of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing.
The ambassador from one of the nuclear weapon states is set to attend the peace memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima on Saturday, and in Nagasaki on Tuesday, for the first time. Bely became ambassador to Japan in 2007.
"Japan has memories of the (A-bomb) disaster . . . and their efforts to pass on such memories will be a big contribution to the movement to nuclear arms reductions," Bely said after visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
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