U.S. ambassador to skip peace ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The U.S. Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, will not participate in the upcoming peace ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has announced. Instead, Aaron Snipe, the deputy chief of mission, will represent the United States at the ceremonies scheduled for Thursday in Hiroshima and Sunday in Nagasaki. This marks the first time since 2024 that a U.S. ambassador has skipped either the Aug.

6 Hiroshima event or the Aug. 9 Nagasaki ceremony. In his statement, Glass emphasized that Hiroshima and Nagasaki serve as "inspiring symbols of peace and hope for the world" and underscore the ongoing commitment of the U.S.-Japan partnership to peace and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the ambassador did not disclose the reason for his absence.

Glass had previously attended both ceremonies in August 2025, around four months after taking up his post in Tokyo. Hiroshima was destroyed by a U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, at the end of World War II, while Nagasaki was targeted by a U.S. atomic bomb three days later.