Israel’s invitation to this year’s atomic bomb commemorations in Japan has sparked a controversy over double standards

Tokyo CNN —

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.

But 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.

Calls for Israel’s exclusion

Of the two ceremonies, Hiroshima’s is the largest with representatives from 115 countries and the