Japan has strongly criticised US President Donald Trump for comparing the recent American military 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.”The comparison has drawn backlash across Japan, which remains the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks. The bombings in August 1945 killed about 140,000 people, and survivors continue to live with long-term health issues and trauma.Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki responded to Trump’s comment, saying, “If Trump’s comments justifies the dropping of the atomic bomb, it is extremely regrettable for us as a city that was bombed.”Atomic bomb survivor and co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning advocacy group Nihon Hidankyo, Mimaki Toshiyuki, also criticised Trump, saying the remarks were “unacceptable”, as quoted by BBC via Japanese public broadcaster NHK.“I’m really disappointed. All I have is anger,” added Teruko Yokoyama, another member of Nihon Hidankyo, speaking to Kyodo News.In response, survivors and citizens in Hiroshima held a protest on Thursday demanding that Trump retract his statement. Hiroshima lawmakers also passed a resolution rejecting any statement that justifies the use of nuclear weapons and called for all armed conflicts to be resolved peacefully.When asked if Japan would formally lodge a complaint, chief cabinet secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa stated that “Japan has repeatedly expressed its position on atomic bombs to Washington.”Trump’s controversial remarks came as he pushed back against a leaked US intelligence assessment which suggested that recent strikes on Iranian nuclear sites only delayed their programme by a few months.Trump countered that the US attacks “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities and set them back “decades” – a claim also supported by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.The legacy of Hiroshima remains central to Japan’s anti-nuclear stance.
