US President Donald Trump has sparked outrage in Japan after comparing the recent US strikes on Iran to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II. “That hit ended the war,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don’t want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing.”
Trump’s comments came as he pushed back on a leaked intelligence report that said US strikes on Iran only set its nuclear programme back by a few months.
Trump insisted that the strikes “obliterated” the programme and set it back “decades” – a claim backed by CIA director John Ratcliffe.
However, Japan’s government has expressed strong disagreement with Trump’s comparison, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa stating that Japan has repeatedly expressed its position on atomic bombs to Washington.
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki said that if Trump’s comment “justifies the dropping of the atomic bomb, it is extremely regrettable for us as a city that was bombed.”
Mimaki Toshiyuki, an atomic bomb survivor who co-chairs the Nobel Peace Prize-winning advocacy group Nihon Hidankyo, described Trump’s comments as “unacceptable”. Another member of the group, Teruko Yokoyama, expressed her disappointment, saying, “I’m really disappointed. All I have is anger”.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people and left survivors with psychological trauma and heightened cancer risk.
The bombings still stir painful memories in Japan, and the country remains committed to opposing nuclear weapons. In Hiroshima, a peace flame has been burning since the 1960s, symbolizing the country’s stance against nuclear weapons. World leaders who visit Hiroshima are also asked to make paper cranes to affirm their commitment to peace.
In response to Trump’s comments, survivors of the atomic bomb attacks staged a protest in Hiroshima, demanding that Trump retract his statement. Lawmakers in Hiroshima also passed a resolution rejecting statements that justify the use of atomic bombs and called for armed conflicts to be settled peacefully.