A minute of silence was observed in Hiroshima today, precisely at the time an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city 80 years ago, during an annual ceremony attended by more than a hundred countries, as US-Russian tensions escalate.
On August 6, 1945, at 08:15, US forces dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing an estimated 140,000 people.
Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped by a US aircraft on Nagasaki, in southern Japan, killing another 74,000 people. These bombings, which hastened the end of World War II, are the only cases in history of nuclear weapons being used in wartime.
Hiroshima urged the world to abandon nuclear weapons
As many of the participants laid wreaths at a cenotaph in memory of the victims, Hiroshima once again urged the world to abandon nuclear weapons.
“The US and Russia hold 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads, and against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East, we are seeing a trend of military buildup,” said Mayor Kazumi Matsui.
“Some leaders are accepting the idea that ‘nuclear weapons are necessary for their national defense,’ in flagrant disregard for the lessons that the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history. They threaten to undermine the framework for peace,” he maintained.
Matsui invited US President Donald Trump to Hiroshima last month after the White House occupant compared the air strikes on Iran to the atomic bombings of Japan in 1945.
“Our country, the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in wartime, has a mission to lead international efforts for a world free of nuclear weapons,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in Hiroshima.
Representatives from 120 countries and regions, as well as the European Union, attended today’s event, according to the Hiroshima City Hall. France was represented by its second-in-command at its embassy.
The nuclear powers—Russia, China and Pakistan—were absent. Iran, accused by the West and Israel of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies, was expected to be represented.
Contrary to tradition, Japan said it did not “select guests” for the commemorations but “notified” all countries and regions. Palestine and Taiwan—neither of which Tokyo officially recognizes—announced their presence for the first time.
On Saturday, Nagasaki is also expected to host a record number of countries for its own commemoration ceremony, including Russia, which will be present for the first time since its military invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“In this period of tension and growing conflict,” Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain “witnesses to the horror caused by nuclear weapons,” Pope Leo XIV said in a statement today.
Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million people. Yet, the skeletal remains of the metal dome in the city center stand as a haunting reminder of the past horror.
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