Hiroshima Observes the 77th Anniversary of Atomic Bombing
Hiroshima Observes the 77th anniversary of Atomic Bombing
Hiroshima residents are commemorating the atomic bombs that decimated the city in the final days of World War Two on its 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing. At the city’s Peace Memorial Park, almost 3,000 people gathered on Saturday morning for an annual event.
Participants from 98 nations, including the Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, attended the ceremony. Due to the situation in Ukraine, the city did not invite delegates from Russia or Belarus.
The first UN leader to attend the event in twelve years was UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
All the participants paused for a moment of silence at 8:15am the same time the US dropped a bomb on 6 August,1945.Nearly 140,000 people were killed till the year end with many exposed to harmful radiations.
After 77 years, the drive to eliminate nuclear weapons is encountering tremendous hurdles. Russia has threatened to use them against Ukraine, and more countries are stressing the importance of employing them as a deterrent.
States party to the UN Nuclear Ban Treaty gathered for the first time in June. However, the nuclear powers and the countries that rely on them for deterrence oppose the pact.
Divisions are also overshadowing the non-proliferation treaty review meeting, which is taking place this month.
At Saturday’s event, Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi read a peace statement. He urged nuclear leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the other Japanese cities ravaged by nuclear bombings, and confront the tragedy of nuclear weapons.
