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Russia's Medvedev: Japan's new PM betraying Hiroshima victims

Saturday, 14 January 2023 11:16 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 14 January 2023 11:28 AM ]

This file photo by AP shows Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia.

Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev says Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has betrayed the rights of hundreds of thousands of victims of US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In a message on his Telegram channel on Saturday, Medvedev called US and Japanese claims about the possibility of Moscow's use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine a "horrible shame", saying he will not “even comment on the paranoia regarding our state’s nuclear plans."

"Just think about it. The head of the Japanese government, in his humiliating submissive ecstasy speaks hogwash about Russia, betraying the memory of hundreds of thousands of Japanese nationals, who burned in the nuclear fire of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And Kishida could not care less that the US was the only state who used nuclear weapons. And Kishida’s own homeland was the only victim," the official said.

According to Medvedev, the Japanese PM should have "reminded the US President about that and demand repentance that has not been expressed by the US authorities for this act of war."

Russia wary of potential Japanese military buildup near its borders

Russia warns it could take retaliatory steps against potential military buildup by Japan near disputed islands.

The remarks came after Biden and Kishida held a meeting in Washington and issued a joint statement that emphasized the imposition of more sanctions against Russia and increased support for Ukraine.

The statement also said any possible Russian use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine is unacceptable.

Russia and Japan have not formally ended World War II hostilities because of their standoff over islands claimed by the Soviet Union at the end of the war.

Russia, itself, has had military bases on the Kuril Islands since World War II and has deployed missile systems there.

Medvedev regretted that Japan's "anti-Russian course" had made peace treaty talks impossible.

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