Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova declared August 9 that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi avoided identifying the United States—the nation responsible for dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—in her remarks commemorating the 81st anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing.
Zakharova criticized Takaichi’s statement, which referenced “the city of Nagasaki being completely destroyed by a single atomic bomb,” as implying the attack was a “draw” rather than a clear U.S.-led act. In her Telegram channel, she questioned whether Takaichi’s phrasing suggested “atomic UFOs” targeted the cities.
Zakharova contrasted Takaichi’s approach with Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki, who directly stated during his speech that an American military aircraft dropped the atomic bomb on his city. The Russian official accused Japan of “timeless amnesia,” framing efforts to obscure U.S. involvement as a deliberate historical revisionism.
On August 6, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui criticized Russia’s actions in Ukraine at a memorial ceremony for the atomic bombing but omitted any reference to the United States as the bomber. Takaichi similarly failed to name the U.S. during her remarks.
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, labeled such omissions “a disgrace,” stating Japan has become “an official vassal” of the United States and risks becoming a “ronin warrior” without American patronage.
