The U.S. Embassy in Japan has announced that Ambassador Rahm Emanuel will not attend the atomic bombing memorial service in Nagasaki on Friday because Israel was not invited. The embassy stated that Emanuel will not attend due to the “politicization” of the event caused by Nagasaki’s decision to exclude Israel.

Instead, Emanuel will pay tribute to the victims of the Nagasaki atomic bombing at a ceremony held at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo.

An atomic bomb dropped by the United States on August 9, 1945, devastated Nagasaki, killing 140,000 people. A second bomb, dropped three days later on Hiroshima, claimed the lives of another 70,000. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, bringing World War II to an end and marking the end of the country’s nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki reaffirmed on Thursday that his decision not to invite Israel remains unchanged, despite announcements from the U.S. and five other Group of Seven countries, along with the European Union, stating that they would send lower-ranking envoys instead of ambassadors to the ceremony.

“We solely aim to hold the ceremony in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere” to honor the atomic bomb victims, Suzuki emphasized. “It is absolutely not due to political motives.”

“It is unfortunate that ambassadors will be unable to join us this year, but I hope they will attend from next year,” Suzuki added.

Suzuki had previously expressed his reluctance to invite Israel in June, citing the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Last week, he announced that Israel would not be invited due to concerns about “potential unforeseen situations” such as protests, sabotage, or attacks on attendees.

Suzuki explained that he based his decision on “various developments in the international community” that suggested a potential risk of disruption to the ceremony. “August 9 is the most significant day for Nagasaki City… and we must not allow the ceremony to be affected,” he stated.

In contrast, Hiroshima invited the Israeli ambassador to Japan to its memorial ceremony on Tuesday, which was attended by 50,000 people, including Emanuel and other envoys, although Palestinian representatives were not invited.

Nagasaki officials revealed that an official from the U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka will represent the United States at Friday’s ceremony.

Envoys from the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the U.K., along with the European Union, signed a joint letter expressing their shared concern, stating that treating Israel on the same level as Russia and Belarus — the only other countries not invited — would be misleading.

The envoys urged Nagasaki to reverse its decision and invite Israel to uphold the universal message of the city’s ceremony. They stated that the exclusion of Israel would make their “high-level participation” challenging.