Japanese minister excuses U.S. nuclear attack

Japan’s defense minister, Fumio Kyuma, recently stated that the U.S. nuclear attacks against Hiroshima and Nagasaki

in 1945 were an inevitable way to end World War II. Kyuma, elected to represent Nagasaki in parliament, said, “it was something that couldn’t be helped.”

The comments sparked outrage around the country, compelling Kyuma to resign and dealing a blow to the already unpopular government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of parliamentary elections. The Abe government has been a key supporter of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

The U.S. government cynically demonizes North Korea and Iran as “nuclear threats,” although it is the only country to have dropped nuclear bombs on another country. Deaths from the explosions in Japan killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people.