More 'insensitive' rhetoric against Japan likely, experts say, as US election campaign heats up
Japan has protested after a senior US politician justified the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, although observers say the comments by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham are part of an increasingly politically charged debate in the run-up to the November presidential election.
They expressed concern, however, that more "insensitive and unnecessary" comments critical of one of Washington's closest allies may be forthcoming in the coming months as the campaign becomes more heated.
"Graham's comments were very unfortunate and unnecessary," said Yoichi Shimada, a professor of international relations at Fukui Prefectural University.
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"Graham is very close to [former president Donald] Trump, is a known conservative and is influential in the party, so this is even more unfortunate," he told This Week in Asia. "He should have thought twice before saying anything."
The Japanese government had "reacted quite calmly" to the comments, he said, adding, "But I hope that the Japanese embassy in Washington has reached out and warned him. US politicians need to be more careful because this is the sort of thing that can cause ill feeling at a time when we need to be reinforcing the alliance.
"There are other countries, like China, that are always looking to find ways to drive a wedge between Japan and the US, and this is exactly the sort of thing that can be used to cause problems."
Graham was speaking in the US Senate on May 8 during a subcommittee meeting discussing the partial suspension of US weapons shipments to Israel.
An avowed supporter of Israel, he demanded, "Give Israel what they need to fight a war they can't afford to lose. This is Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids."
Graham continued the comparison by asking General Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "In hindsight, do you think that was the right decision, for America to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities in question?"
Brown replied, "I'll tell you it stopped a world war."
Graham then turned his attention to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, asking, "Do you agree, General Austin? If you'd been around, would you say drop them?" Austin replied that he agreed with Brown.
Responding to a reporter's question in Tokyo on Friday, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said, "I believe those remarks about Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not appropriate.
"Japan is aware that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took so many precious lives and caused an extremely regrettable humanitarian situation in which people suffered indescribable hardships due to illness and disabilities.
"We believe the use of nuclear weapons does not match the spirit of humanitarianism, which is the ideological foundation of international law, because of their tremendous destructive and lethal power."
That message was passed on to Graham's office, she said, although it appeared to have been overlooked by the senator as he doubled down on his comments on an NBC News programme on Sunday.
"Why is it OK for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their existential-threat war?" he asked. "That was the right decision. So, Israel, do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state."
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi responded to the follow-up comments, describing them as "extremely unfortunate".
"I am extremely disappointed that such statements have been repeated," he said. "I will continue to work tirelessly to promote an accurate understanding of the reality of the atomic bombing, including that of Senator Graham."
The "Little Boy" enriched uranium bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killed as many as 145,000 residents of the city, either in the immediate blast or of radiation-related illnesses over the following months. Three days later, the "Fat Boy" plutonium weapon detonated over Nagasaki, killing around 80,000 people.
"I do not understand the point that Graham was trying to make," said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at the Tokyo campus of Temple University. "Clearly he was trying to score political points against [President Joe] Biden ahead of the election, but I cannot understand why he would dredge up Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
He added that the timing of Graham's comments was "unfortunate", coming soon after Biden was criticised for describing Japan as a "xenophobic" nation as it did not have large-scale immigration, a point he was attempting to score against Trump's hostility to immigrants.
"Japan is walking a tightrope," Kingston added. "They have to say what the domestic audience favours, but they do not want to upset Uncle Sam.
"I believe they could - and should - have pushed back harder on Biden's comments on xenophobia, but Japan understands that this is an election year and weird things are going to come up in the coming months."
There would be no lingering impact on bilateral relations as Japan was aware that it needed US support to guarantee its national security, Kingston said, adding, "This is a country that has got used to being misunderstood and misrepresented in other countries' public discourse".
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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