British Embassy minister to go to A-bomb events in Hiroshima, Nagasaki+

TOKYO, July 29 Kyodo -
David Fitton, minister at the British Embassy in Japan, will attend the annual
ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki next month to commemorate the 1945 atomic
bombings of the two Japanese cities as the first British government
representative to do so, the embassy said Thursday.
Britain's move comes after the United States and France have also decided to
send government representatives to the ceremony in Hiroshima on Aug. 6,
bringing officials of the three nuclear states to be present at the event in
western Japan for the first time. The ceremony in Nagasaki will be held Aug. 9.
The Hiroshima municipal government said Thursday that representatives from a
record-high 69 governments, including U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos, will
be attending the ceremony. The figure did not include the British
representative yet.
The U.S. State Department said Wednesday that Roos will attend the Hiroshima
ceremony, becoming the first U.S. government representative to be sent to the
event.
British Ambassador to Japan David Warren will not be in Japan at the time of
the 65th anniversaries, British Embassy officials said.
==Kyodo
2010-07-29 23:13:24