Photo/Illutration Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikahil Galuzin offers flowers to the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on Aug. 4. (Jun Ueda)

HIROSHIMA--Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin made an unannounced visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Aug. 4, two days before this city hosts a service dedicated to victims of the atomic bombing.

The visit came despite the fact that representatives from Moscow have been excluded from the official ceremony this year.

Galuzin, alongside about 20 officials, including embassy staff, offered flowers at the Cenotaph for Atomic Bomb Victims in the park at around 10:10 a.m.

The Hiroshima city government said it had not been notified about his visit beforehand and declined to comment on it.

The city opted out of inviting Russia to this year’s memorial ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Asked by reporters about the purpose of his visit, Galuzin said in Japanese, “I want to offer prayers to the victims who perished in the war crime committed by the United States by dropping an atomic bomb, express condolences to their relatives and hopes for the survivors’ health.”

The ambassador added he is also visiting Hiroshima to explain that his country is making aggressive efforts on nuclear disarmament and the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Galuzin ruled out Russia’s use of nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, and he blasted the city government’s decision not to invite Russian representatives to the memorial ceremony.

“It completely ignores the fact that Russia is a leader in global efforts toward nuclear disarmament,” he said.

In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin stunned the world when he made a veiled threat, widely interpreted to be about the use of those weapons, against any countries who would interfere in the conflict. But more recently Russia has taken up an anti-nuclear war message.

It has been a longstanding practice for Hiroshima city officials to ask leaders of nuclear powers, their ambassadors and other dignitaries in Japan to attend the memorial service.

Russia sent its ambassador to the service in 2000, a first among major nuclear powers. Since then, it has dispatched its representatives to attend over many years.

But the Hiroshima city government announced in May that it would not extend invitations to Russia and Belarus, which is in a military alliance with Moscow, citing a consultation with the central government over the matter.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui explained that the city was concerned that other countries might pass up attending if the two countries were included in the invitation list.

Galuzin reacted strongly to the decision, calling it “shameful” on social media.

In the afternoon of Aug. 4, the ambassador was expected to give a speech on nuclear weapons at a round table conference jointly hosted by the Russian Embassy and an ethnic nationalist group, called Issuikai, in Hiroshima.

Ruslan Esin, Belarussian ambassador to Japan, also denounced the exclusion of his country from the ceremony when he visited Hiroshima last month.

“The decision went too far,” he said. “Various factors should be taken into consideration.”

Esin was visiting the city to greet municipal officials as he finished up his five-year ambassadorship to Japan. He offered flowers at the cenotaph during his visit on July 21.

(This article was compiled from reports by Hideki Soejima, a senior staff writer, and Tabito Fukutomi.)

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