TOKYO: The Japanese government is increasingly concerned about a series of recent remarks by U.S. officials justifying the August 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Many in the United States take a positive view of the atomic bombings in the closing days of World War II. Tokyo, which opposes the use of nuclear weapons, has informed the U.S. side of its position, but is struggling to deal with the series of remarks.

In a U.S. congressional meeting on Wednesday last week, Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican senator, made a remark defending the atomic bombings. Graham is close to former U.S. President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in the presidential election in November.

The remark came when Graham was talking about support for Israel over the Palestinian situation.

The Japanese government conveyed its stance to the U.S. side following Graham’s remark. Nevertheless, the senator said in a television program Sunday that the decision to drop the atomic bombs was correct and that the bombings helped end the war.

In the Wednesday congressional meeting, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin suggested, in response to a question from Graham, that the U.S. atomic bombings were necessary to end the war.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary HAYASHI Yoshimasa told a news conference Monday that these remarks are “extremely regrettable.”

The atomic bombings “took many precious lives, caused (a number of) people to suffer unspeakable hardships such as illnesses and brought about an extremely regrettable humanitarian situation,” the top government spokesman said.

The Japanese government plans to continue efforts to spread an accurate understanding of the reality of the atomic bombings. However, a senior Foreign Ministry official suggested that there are limits to what the government can do.

The remarks in question could put a damper on the bilateral ties despite Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio and U.S. President Joe Biden having confirmed their bonds when they met in April during Kishida’s state visit to the United States.Also, Biden called Japan “xenophobic,” along with China and Russia, at an event in Washington on May 1, prompting the Japanese government to lodge a protest.

JIJI Press