Russian ambassador to attend Nagasaki peace ceremony
Russia's ambassador to Japan is set to attend an annual peace ceremony this August in Nagasaki. It's the first time Russia has been invited since invading Ukraine.
The event will take place on August 9, exactly 80 years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city in western Japan.
The Russian Embassy in Tokyo says Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev will attend.
The city had not invited Russia and ally Belarus since 2022. But officials say they plan to invite all countries and regions with diplomatic missions in Japan this year.
Russian Embassy officials told NHK that the ambassador decided to attend after receiving an invitation signed by the Nagasaki mayor. They also say they received an explanation about previous circumstances.
The embassy says Ambassador Nozdrev will not attend a ceremony on August 6 in the city of Hiroshima.
NHK has learned that Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Joergen Frydnes plans to make a four-day visit to both cities starting July 21. He is expected to exchange opinions with atomic bomb survivors, known as hibakusha.
The committee awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, an organization that represents survivors of the atomic bombings and calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
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