By Mina Pollmann
The 70th anniversary of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a focal point for opponents of defense reform.
Last Thursday, Hiroshima commemorated the 70th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing. Every August 6 is a somber day in Japan, but the outside world’s interest was particularly piqued this year. Foreign dignitaries from a record 100 countries participated in the ceremony – including representatives from countries that possess nuclear weapons: the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, and France. Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, attended for the second consecutive year, and Rose Gottemoeller, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, attended for the first time.
Today, Nagasaki holds its own Peace Memorial Ceremony in remembrance of the August 9 atomic bombing, the second – and last – in history.
Though Japan’s nuclear allergy is historically rooted (stemming not only from the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also from the 1954 Lucky Dragon Incident), contemporary remembrance is intricately intertwined with antiwar politics and opposition to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s security reform legislation.
Opponents of the security bills are using the anniversary of the bombing to push their agenda by trying to remind the Japanese people of the horrors of war – and suggesting that war is inevitable should Abe’s proposed defense reforms pass. Standing at the site of so much suffering and calling for pacifism is an undoubtedly effective appeal to pathos.
Read the full story at The Diplomat