On August 6, 2022, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony was held in Hiroshima. Representatives from 99 countries and the EU, along with Japan, participated, including:

➢Ambassadorial-level— Australia, Egypt, France, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, Syria, the United Kingdom and the United States

➢Non-ambassadorial-level—Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey 

➢Not attending—China, India, Iran, North Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Sweden (Note: underlines denote countries whose representatives have attended the ceremony at least once in the past three years)

At the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 9, 2022, representatives from 83 countries and the EU participated, including the following:

➢Ambassadorial-level—Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States

➢Non-ambassadorial-level—Brazil, China, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, South Korea and the Netherlands

➢Not attending—Austria, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Sweden

The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki decided not to invite Russia and Belarus to the 2022 ceremony due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to support for this by Belarus. While criticizing these decisions, two countries’ ambassadors visited Hiroshima and placed flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims before the ceremonies.

At various fora, Japan has proposed that the world’s political leaders visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to witness the humanitarian consequences of using nuclear weapons. In 2022, EU President Charles Michel and German Foreign Minister Annalena Beerbock, respectively, placed flowers at the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims and toured the Peace Memorial Museum.