Claim : Japan’s PM Sanae Takaichi thanked the pilot who nuked Nagasaki for the mass Murder of her ancestors.
Conclusion : The claim is false. Japan PM Takaichi paid tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery as a routine diplomatic gesture. The actual pilot, who dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney (1919–2004), is buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts, not at Arlington National Cemetery.
Rating : False 
Several social media users have claimed that Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi honoured the pilot who dropped atomic bombs on Japan during World War 2. Verified X user ‘mog_russEN’ made such a post with the caption : “TOTAL JAPANESE HUMILIATION: PM honors the “Killer” of her own people! In a display of absolute SUBMISSION during her U.S. visit, Takaichi laid flowers at the grave of Charles Sweeney—the pilot who dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. ” It includes a video purportedly showing Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi honoring the grave of the pilot responsible for the August 9, 1945, bombing of Nagasaki. The post gained over 1.1 million views and can be seen below –
🚨⚡️ TOTAL JAPANESE HUMILIATION: PM honors the “Killer” of her own people! 🤡🇯🇵
In a display of absolute SUBMISSION during her U.S. visit, Takaichi laid flowers at the grave of Charles Sweeney—the pilot who dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.pic.twitter.com/ejFQR8j69R
— RussiaNews 🇷🇺 (@mog_russEN) March 22, 2026
Other users have shared similar claims that can be seen here and here
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found it to be false. There is no credible evidence to back this claim, and official records indicate it was simply a standard diplomatic gesture. The real pilot, Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney (1919–2004), is interred at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts, not at Arlington National Cemetery.
We first conducted a web search with the phrase “Japanese PM honours pilot who nuked Nagasaki” to learn more. However, no major news outlets have covered such an event or written about such a story. There is no substantial evidence or official records to prove that she honoured the pilot who nuked Nagasaki.
When we searched further we found a Youtube short published by Firstpost titled : “Japan PM Takaichi Pays Tribute at Arlington Cemetery | N18G.” The description notes how “She paid tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by laying a wreath and honouring soldiers who lost their lives.” View a screenshot of the description below –
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited Arlington National Cemetery on March 20, 2026, during her first U.S. summit with President Donald Trump. According to a report by Japan Times published on March 21, 2026, she “laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.” The report further notes that it is “customary for Japanese prime ministers to lay flowers at the cemetery during visits to Washington.” View a section from the report below-
Next, we checked for any official Japanese sources and landed on the webpage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. This report also confirmed that PM “TAKAICH laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with members of each Armed Forces forming lines and the Japanese and U.S. national anthems being performed.” There is no mention of any pilot name who nuked Nagasaki during World War 2. View a screenshot of this below-
Following this, we searched for information about the actual pilot who flew over Nagasaki and dropped the bomb. As per Findagrave, Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney who was born on 27 Dec 1919 and died on 16 Jul 2004, “was the pilot of “Bockscar” which dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9 1945.” He is buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, Massachusetts and not Arlington National Cemetery where PM Takaich laid the wreath. View a screenshot below –
Thus, the claim is false
