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The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have invited U.S. President Donald Trump to visit Japan this year for the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings that devastated the two cities in 1945. In a joint letter sent on January 28, the mayors urged Trump to listen to the testimonies of hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) and reflect on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.
“We honestly hope that you will break away from the dogma of nuclear dependence and take decisive leadership in the abolition of nuclear arms and the achievement of lasting peace in the world,” the mayors said in the letter, which was made available to AFP on Wednesday.
Atomic Bombing on Japan
Atomic bombings were executed on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, remaining the only occasions in which nuclear weapons were deployed during war. These attacks have caused approximately 140,000 deaths in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki, accounting for deaths due to radiation that followed. The atomic bombs made Japan surrender and end the Second World War days later.
Despite the importance of this event in history, the U.S. government has never officially apologized to Japan for the bombings. Still, since then, American leaders have occasionally used those devastating incidents symbolically.
In 2016, Barack Obama was the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima and met survivors while calling for a nuclear-free world. Joe Biden, his successor, made a similar visit in 2023. President Trump, who was in office from 2017 to 2021, had received invitations to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Japanese officials, but he never made a visit.
Nuclear Tensions in the world
The invitation comes at a time when renewed concerns about nuclear proliferation are emerging at the global level. Trump has withdrawn the United States from the INF Treaty during his presidency and, instead, is focusing on the strategy of nuclear deterrence while advocating for military strength more than disarmament. A visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki could serve as a moment to reflect on long-term nuclear weapons impacts.
In recent years, Hiroshima and Nagasaki officials have consistently advocated for nuclear disarmament. Nagasaki’s Mayor Shiro Suzuki faced controversy last year when he did not invite Israel’s ambassador to the annual commemoration ceremony, citing concerns over possible protests related to the Gaza conflict. In response, ambassadors from the U.S., Israel, and several European nations boycotted the event in protest, attending a smaller memorial in Tokyo instead.
The hibakusha, the survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have played the most important role in keeping alive the memory of those events and urging a nuclear-free world. Their efforts have been rewarded last year through the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors pushing for a global ban on nuclear weapons.
The invitation extended to Trump is part of Japan’s broader effort to engage world leaders in discussions about nuclear disarmament. Whether the former president accepts the invitation remains uncertain, but his presence at the 80th-anniversary events would mark a significant moment in U.S.-Japan relations and global peace efforts.
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