Japanese foreign minister protests mushroom clouds on Chinese map, calling it insensitive to A-bomb survivors
Jul. 14, 2014
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, elected from Hiroshima’s first district, held a press conference on July 8 and said that he will protest a map of Japan that appeared in the Chongqing Youth Daily, a Chinese newspaper. The map includes illustrations of mushroom clouds at the locations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mr. Kishida said, “This is a terribly insensitive act, and an insult to A-bomb survivors.”
As foreign minister of the only nation to have experienced atomic bombings, and as a politician elected from Hiroshima, an A-bombed city, Mr. Kishida said that he is unable to overlook such acts.
Referring to the newspaper article, which criticizes the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for permitting the right to collective self-defense by obtaining Cabinet approval, Mr. Kishida said, “The newspaper says that Japan wants war again. This is absurd. Japan’s stance as a pacifist nation has not changed at all.” He added, “We plan to continue explaining Japan’s security policies accurately so that these policies will be properly understood.”
With regard to China, which is intensifying its criticism of Japan, Mr. Kishida also said, “To stir up an unnecessary international dispute by making an accusation based on a perception of history does not contribute to building regional peace and cooperation.”
(Originally published on July 9, 2014)
As foreign minister of the only nation to have experienced atomic bombings, and as a politician elected from Hiroshima, an A-bombed city, Mr. Kishida said that he is unable to overlook such acts.
Referring to the newspaper article, which criticizes the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for permitting the right to collective self-defense by obtaining Cabinet approval, Mr. Kishida said, “The newspaper says that Japan wants war again. This is absurd. Japan’s stance as a pacifist nation has not changed at all.” He added, “We plan to continue explaining Japan’s security policies accurately so that these policies will be properly understood.”
With regard to China, which is intensifying its criticism of Japan, Mr. Kishida also said, “To stir up an unnecessary international dispute by making an accusation based on a perception of history does not contribute to building regional peace and cooperation.”
(Originally published on July 9, 2014)
