ANKARA

The Mayor of Nagasaki revealed that his city government received over 2,000 phone calls, emails, and online messages praising his decision not to invite the Israeli envoy to a ceremony commemorating the US atomic bombing of the city in 1945, local media reported Wednesday.

Mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters on Tuesday that he also received around 1,500 responses in English and approximately 1,400 messages protesting his decision to exclude the Israeli envoy.

"The reactions indicate that we failed to make them understand that our decision was not political," Suzuki said, as quoted by Kyodo News.

On August 9, Nagasaki, Japan, commemorated the U.S. atomic bombing of the city in 1945 while refusing to invite Israel to the ceremonies amid its ongoing war on Gaza.

Suzuki mentioned that among the 1,400 protest emails, many had the same subject line and identical content.

Over 2,000 phone calls, emails, and online messages in Japanese mostly supported his decision.

Ahead of the commemoration, Nagasaki decided not to invite Israel to the event despite pressure from the Group of Seven (G7) nations.

The mayor explained that the decision was made to ensure security and peace during the event.

The tragic event at the end of World War II is particularly significant as Nagasaki remains the last place in history to have suffered an atomic bomb attack.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid