Russian Envoy to Attend Nagasaki A-Bomb Memorial Ceremony; 1st Time for Russian Envoy to Attend Ceremony Since Start of Ukraine War

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:10 JST, June 27, 2025

Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdrev said Thursday he was invited by Nagasaki to attend a peace memorial ceremony on Aug. 9 to mark 80 years since an atomic bomb was dropped on the city, and that he plans to go, according to the Tass news agency.

If realized, it will be the first time for a Russian representative to participate in the annual ceremony since Russia started its aggression against Ukraine in 2022.

The Nagasaki city government had not invited Russia and Belarus, which supports the Russian aggression, since 2022.

Last year, the ambassadors of all Group of Seven countries, except Japan, and the ambassador of the European Union to Japan did not attend the peace ceremony in response to the city’s decision not to invite Israel.

Given the situation, the city government announced in May that all 157 countries and regions with diplomatic missions in Japan, as well as the EU delegation to Japan, would be invited to this year’s ceremony.

Regarding the Hiroshima peace memorial ceremony on Aug. 6, Nozdrev would not attend, as the Hiroshima city government changed its method of gathering foreign attendees. The city did not send invitations but sent letters instead, leaving the decision to attend up to each country and region.