Japan: Eight decades after an atomic bomb was first used in warfare, thousands gathered in solemn remembrance at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Wednesday, bowing their heads in silence to honour the lives lost and to call once again for a world free of nuclear weapons.
At precisely 8:15 a.m., the moment the US dropped the uranium bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” on August 6, 1945, a hush fell over the crowd as bells tolled across the city.
The atomic blast instantly killed about 78,000 people and incinerated much of the city, which had served as a military hub during World War II. By the end of that year, the death toll had climbed significantly due to burns and radiation exposure.
In the shadow of the Genbaku Dome, one of the few buildings left standing after the explosion, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui addressed the 120 delegations from countries and territories, including nuclear powers like the United States and Israel.
In a powerful speech, Matsui warned that the world was edging closer to nuclear peril once again, citing an alarming resurgence in military expansion and the belief among global powers that nuclear armament is essential for national security.
“Among the world’s political leaders, there is a growing belief that possessing nuclear weapons is unavoidable to protect their own countries. This not only nullifies the lessons from the past, but also weakens the very frameworks meant to maintain peace,” he said. He urged global leaders to come to Hiroshima in person to witness the reality of the atomic bombing.
The ceremony also cast light on the plight of the ‘hibakusha,’ the survivors of the atomic bombings. Once stigmatised by baseless fears of radiation-linked disease and birth defects, their numbers have dwindled below 100,000 for the first time this year.
Despite being the only nation to have endured nuclear attacks, Japan remains outside the United Nations’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. However, it maintains a stated commitment to disarmament.
The Hiroshima anniversary arrives at a time of mounting global insecurity, with ongoing conflicts, renewed nuclear threats, and a fragile arms control architecture. As the world remembers the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where a second bomb fell three days later, the city’s message remains stark and urgent: peace must not be taken for granted.
“This commemoration is not just for the past. It is a warning. And a promise,” said Mayor Matsui.
