Hiroshima residents condemn Israel’s Gaza offensive, demand ceasefire
Survivors’ city becomes site of weekly protests linking past nuclear trauma with Palestinian suffering
HIROSHIMA, Japan (MNTV) — Residents of Hiroshima, the Japanese city devastated by the US atomic bombing in 1945, gathered this week to denounce Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, calling the war a heinous crime and urging an immediate ceasefire.
The demonstration, held in front of the city’s Atomic Bomb Dome (Genbaku Dome) along the Motoyasu River, was part of the 90th consecutive weekly protest organized since the start of the conflict.
Residents of Hiroshima, and the Palestinian people share a common oppressor in the face of American-led and American aided war.
Marchers carried placards in multiple languages, raised chants, and displayed images of destruction in Gaza, including photographs of Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif.
Professor Ayu Namie of Hiroshima City University, who helped organize the protest, said in an emotional statement that the scenes from Gaza were more devastating than what her own city endured after August 1945.
“Japan was a strong empire capable of rebuilding after the bombing, but Gaza has no such power. What is happening there is even more heinous,” she told participants, fighting back tears.
Namie added that she had long felt a personal connection to the Palestinian struggle, recalling a visit to Gaza years before the war.
“The Palestinian people taught me the meaning of life and of resistance. Gaza has become a part of my own life, even though I am not Arab,” she said.
Writer and political analyst Yoshimei noted that until recently he knew little about Palestine, but the war had forced him to confront the depth of suffering in Gaza. Another demonstrator, 70-year-old Mitsoko, joined chants condemning Israel and demanded an end to the bloodshed and famine gripping the territory.
For many in Hiroshima, a city synonymous with mass civilian suffering, the weekly gatherings have become a way to connect their own history of devastation with the plight of Palestinians under siege.
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