Taiwan envoy boycotts Nagasaki memorial over seat dispute

Taiwan's top economic representative in Japan said he boycotted this year's memorial marking the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki, accusing city officials of being pro-China and insulting Taipei.

Lee Yi-yang, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Tokyo, said in a social media post that seat assignments showed Nagasaki “deliberately denied Taiwan's status as a nation, completely disregarding Taiwan's sovereignty and dignity.” Lee said he and two deputies stayed away because their designated seats were not among those reserved for diplomatic missions. Instead, he sent a lower-ranked official from Fukuoka.

That official, Chen Ming-chun, told Nippon Television: “I think there shouldn't be any discrimination at a place where we pray together for a world without a war or nuclear weapons.”

Lee's office issued a statement saying Nagasaki acted as “a pawn of China's insistence that Taiwan is not a state and has no sovereignty.”

Nagasaki officials said seats for Taiwanese officials were located just behind other envoys and were not clearly distinguished as nondiplomatic guests. Mayor Shiro Suzuki denied Lee's allegation that the city was bowing to China. “We have courteously accommodated their attendance,” Suzuki told reporters. “Taiwan is a partner with strong ties with Nagasaki and we place great importance to our relationship.”

The Asahi newspaper reported that seats planned for the Taiwan officials were part of an area for foreign attendees from international organisations and envoys who could not fit into a special guests section reserved for ambassadors and top Japanese officials.

Japan and China normalised diplomatic ties in 1972, ending war animosities. The joint communique officially recognised Tokyo's diplomatic ties with Beijing and ended those with Taipei, though Japan and Taiwan still maintain close economic and trade ties through nongovernmental channels.

Sunday's memorial at the Peace Park in the southwestern city was attended by representatives from 98 countries and three international organisations, including the United Nations, the European Union and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Nagasaki officials said.

The United States launched the Nagasaki attack on August 9, 1945, killing 70,000 by the end of that year. It came three days after the bombing of Hiroshima that killed 140,000. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending World War II and the nearly half-century of aggression across Asia.

Nagasaki was boycotted in the 2024 anniversary by then-U.S. ambassador Rahm Emanuel and counterparts from five other Group of Seven countries for not inviting Israel over the escalating conflict in West Asia and concern about possible risks such as protests and other safety issues. That prompted Nagasaki to set a policy of inviting countries, regions and organisations that have diplomatic missions in Japan or at the United Nations, including North Korea and countries in conflict.

Taiwan fits neither category as a guest, but Nagasaki accommodated its representatives at their request last year, officials said. Lee did attend the August 6 atomic bombing memorial in Hiroshima, where he was treated equally with other foreign envoys, he said in a statement.

Lee stressed that Taiwan has demonstrated itself to be a peace-loving nation, while China has increasingly posed threats to the region with its rapid military growth and nuclear weapons. Lee took up his post in Japan in September 2024 and last year became the first Taiwanese representative from the liaison office to attend the Hiroshima and Nagasaki ceremonies. He was given a similar seat assignment in Nagasaki last year but did not raise the issue, to prioritise friendship, he said.