Japan's PM Shinzo Abe sternly rebuked his defence minister for stating that the US atomic bombings of Japan were the inevitable way of ending WWII.
TOKYO: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sternly rebuked his defence minister on Monday for suggesting that the US atomic bombings of Japan were the inevitable way of ending World War II.
Survivors of the bombings also told Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma to stay away from future memorial ceremonies in Nagasaki after his suggestion Saturday that the nuclear attacks on Japan by the United States "couldn't be helped." The gaffe-prone defence minister was summoned by Abe and reprimanded for his controversial remarks.
"We must not hurt the feelings of atom bomb sufferers in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I want you to strictly refrain from making remarks that would cause people's misunderstanding," Abe told Kyuma, Jiji Press reported.
"I was told by the prime minister to be careful about my comments. I'll follow his instruction," Kyuma told reporters after the meeting with Abe. The controversy comes at a delicate time from Abe, who is already battling falling public support ahead of key upper house elections on July 29.
Kyuma, who represents Nagasaki in parliament, on Sunday apologised during a news conference in the southern port city for his remarks, which were denounced by ruling party and opposition lawmakers as well as victims of the attacks. "His comments ridicule atomic bomb victims who have been campaigning to abolish nuclear weapons, fighting relentlessly despite their physical weakness," said Hirotami Yamada, a member of a group of A-bomb victims.
"We have sent a letter to Minister Kyuma saying that we will never allow his attendance at the peace memorial ceremony held on August 9," he told AFP by telephone. Some 100 demonstrators staged a rally at Nagasaki Peace Memorial Park in light rain Monday, carrying a banner protesting that the defence minister's remarks "would lead to the justification of nuclear bombings."
"I want to express my strong feeling of regret (over Kyuma's remark) as it gave such a great shock to atom bomb survivors and the people of Nagasaki," Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue told the city assembly separately. "I will visit Tokyo as early as (Tuesday) and tell Defence Minister Kyuma and Prime Minister Abe how the city of Nagasaki feels," the mayor said.
Top government spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki, however, reiterated the government had no plan to dismiss the beleaguered defence minister. "We expect (Kyuma) to continue fulfilling his duties as a minister keeping in mind the prime minister's stern words," he said.
On August 9, 1945, a US nuclear bomb, codenamed "Fat Man" after British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, killed more than 70,000 people in Nagasaki. The bomb was even larger than "Little Boy" which was dropped three days earlier on Hiroshima, killing some 140,000 people. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II.
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