Nagasaki voices regret over Trump’s remark on atomic bombings

Nagasaki (Jiji Press) — Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki voiced regret Thursday over US President Donald Trump’s linking of US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities to the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“We deeply regret it if he tried to justify the dropping of the atomic bombs,” Suzuki said.

But the mayor added he is not thinking of making an official protest at the moment, saying, “I don’t get the exact intent” behind the remark.

On Wednesday, Trump told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that Sunday’s strikes on the Iranian facilities and the atomic bombings of the two Japanese cities are “essentially the same” in that both ended war.

In Hiroshima, hibakusha atomic bomb survivors and others held a protest rally, saying that Trump justified the use of atomic bombs. Seeking apologies, they demanded that the remark be withdrawn.

“It’s unforgivable. As an atomic bomb survivor, I firmly protest,” said Kunihiko Sakuma, 80, head of the Hiroshima Prefecture Federation of A-Bomb Victims Associations, or Hiroshima Hidankyo.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi avoided direct comment, saying, “Generally, evaluation of historical events should be discussed by experts.”

Asked whether Japan will make a protest, Hayashi said, “Our country has repeatedly conveyed its basic view on the atomic bombings,” adding that Tokyo will maintain close communication with Washington.