Western ambassadors shun Nagasaki ceremony over Israel snub

Ambassadors from Western countries including the United States and the United Kingdom will not attend a ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki after Israel was snubbed.

The mayor of the south-western Japanese city, Shiro Suzuki, said on Thursday that Israel not being invited to attend was not politically motivated but added there would be no change to the decision.

The remarks come a day after it was revealed that the ambassadors of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the US and the European Union had sent a letter to Nagasaki in mid-July saying "it would become difficult for us to have high-level participation" in the event if Israel was excluded.