Russian ambassador to attend Hiroshima peace ceremony

HIROSHIMA, Aug. 3 Kyodo -Russian Ambassador to Japan Alexander Panov will attend Sunday's peace memorial ceremony in Hiroshima, the only envoy of the five declared nuclear powers to accept an invitation so far, city officials said Thursday.

The city has sent invitations for the annual ceremony to the ambassadors to Japan of the five -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- as well as of India and Pakistan since 1998, when the South Asian countries conducted nuclear tests before the ceremony that year.

The Indian and Pakistani ambassadors attended the ceremony in 1998, while last year only the Pakistani ambassador attended.

Panov is the only ambassador so far to have told the city office of his plan to attend the ceremony, held on the 55th anniversary of the U.S. atomic-bombing of Hiroshima, the officials said.

==Kyodo
next back