Fox News Puts Wildfire Damage Next to Atomic Bomb Damage
Japanese Citizens Outraged: “Are They Mocking Japan?” “They Should Apologize”,
Jesse Watters, a prominent anchor on Fox News, reported on January 11 (local time) about the ongoing massive wildfire damage in Los Angeles (LA) from the last five days, saying some parts of LA look like Hiroshima right after the atomic bomb was dropped. On screen, a photo comparing the current LA damage to past Hiroshima was displayed. Screenshot from the Fox News website,
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, ‘In the midst of enormous damage from a massive wildfire raging for five days in Los Angeles (LA), the largest city on the west coast of the United States, a U.S. news channel comparing the situation in LA to Hiroshima right after the atomic bomb has sparked controversy.’,
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, ‘On the 12th, Japanese social media users, including those on X (formerly Twitter), poured out their complaints against a certain scene from the American news reporting on the wildfire damage.’,
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, ‘ MobileAdNew center ‘, ‘The contentious scene appeared during a wildfire special report on Fox News Channel on the 11th (local time). Jesse Watters, a leading anchor for Fox News, stated, “At least 11 people have died in this wildfire, and many more are missing. An area larger than San Francisco has been destroyed,” and then said, “Some areas of LA look just like Hiroshima right after the atomic bomb was dropped.”’,
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, ‘While Watters spoke this comment, subtitles also appeared on screen saying, “Some areas of LA look like Hiroshima,” and a photo comparing the LA damage area to past Hiroshima was similarly displayed on the screen.’,
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On January 11 (local time), a firefighting helicopter sprays water over houses near the site of the wildfire raging for the fifth day in Los Angeles (LA) area, U.S. West. 2025.1.11 EPA Yonhap News,
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, ‘Although the intention might have been to highlight the severity of the wildfire damage by comparing it to Hiroshima during World War II, some Japanese netizens, suffering from “atomic bomb trauma,” did not take it lightly.’,
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, ‘ MobileAdNew center ‘, ‘Japanese netizens criticized the Fox News report by sharing the particular scene.’,
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, ‘They expressed outraged reactions such as, “American broadcasters should apologize to Hiroshima. Comparing a wildfire to an atomic bomb is unacceptable,” “Dropping the atomic bomb was a U.S. war crime, and the LA fire is also due to the U.S.’s own fault,” “With the wildfire, people had time to escape, but people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki had no chance,” “It feels like Japan is being mocked,” “Only compare after tens of thousands of deaths have occurred,” and “I don’t want to donate for the LA wildfire damage.”’,
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, ‘Meanwhile, the ‘Palisades Fire’, which first occurred on the wealthy west coast area of Pacific Palisades on the 7th, has grown by about 4.7㎢ in size to reach 87.4㎢ from 24 hours earlier.’,
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On January 11 (local time), firefighting efforts are underway with a helicopter spraying water over a region burning with a massive wildfire for the fifth day in the Los Angeles (LA) area, U.S. West. 2025.1.11 AFP Yonhap News,
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, ‘The ‘Eaton Fire’, occurring near the residential area of Altadena, where many Koreans reside, increased by approximately 1.7㎢ in a day to 57.1㎢. The ‘Kenneth Fire’, which started on the 9th in Northwestern LA, and the ‘Hearst Fire’, continuing from the 7th in the north, have also slightly expanded to 4.3㎢ and 3.2㎢, respectively.’,
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, ‘The total affected area of the four ongoing wildfires in LA is around 156.3㎢, which is slightly over a quarter of the size of Seoul (605.2㎢).’,
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Ruined Pacific Palisades residential area in the western affluent area of the United States as of January 11 (local time) after being hit by a massive wildfire that initially started on the 7th in the Los Angeles (LA) area. 2025.1.11 Reuters Yonhap News,
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, ‘According to the LA County Coroner’s Office, at least 11 people have died due to the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, with 5 from the former and 6 from the latter. As search operations using sniffer dogs continue in the damage area, the death toll is expected to rise. Currently, at least 13 people are estimated to be missing.’,
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, ‘It has been estimated that over 12,300 buildings have been burned down, with approximately 7,000 in the Eaton Fire area and 5,300 in the Palisades Fire area.’,
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, ‘LA County has issued evacuation orders to 153,000 residents, with evacuation warnings to 166,000 residents to be prepared for departure at any moment.\n’