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Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors Urge US, Israel for Peace Amid Iran Conflict

Tokyo: Japanese atomic bomb survivors have sent letters to the embassies of the US and Israel, condemning their attacks on Iran. However, the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo refused to accept the letter co-signed by four atomic bomb survivor groups, according to Japanese daily The Mainichi. Shigemitsu Tanaka, the 85-year-old head of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, expressed disappointment, stating, "The document was sent back without even being read. I think they are becoming closed-minded."

According to Anadolu Agency, the letter, which called for an immediate ceasefire and condemned the attacks as outrageous, was sent earlier this month. The entire region has been on alert since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, resulting in over 1,400 deaths, including the then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, and other countries in the region hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.

Japanese demonstrators also protested the US-Israeli war on Iran in Tokyo on Sunday, at an event titled 'Drop bass not bombs.' Videos and photographs posted by the organizers Protest Rave on the US social media company X showed demonstrators holding placards and flags with slogans such as 'War is over if you want it,' 'No war,' and 'No racism,' along with caricatures of Takaichi.

Separately, Iran's Embassy in Japan reported on Sunday that a group of Iranian residents and Japanese citizens gathered outside the embassy to commemorate over 165 schoolgirls killed in an airstrike in the city of Minab on Feb. 28, when the US and Israel began their joint attacks.