Japan observed a minute of silence to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and to remind the world of the horror it caused, in a context of tension.
As Japan marks 80 years since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, survivors fight memories of that catastrophic day to live on.
Against the backdrop of rising Russia-US tensions, Japan held a ceremony on Wednesday morning commemorating 80 years since the United States’ atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Speakers warned the representatives of 120 countries and regions in attendance that escalating threats of nuclear warfare “blatantly disregard” the horrifying legacy of the 1945 attacks that killed over 240 000 people.
Many died in the following months from injuries and radiation sickness.
Nuclear attack
A silent prayer was held at 8:15am, the moment when US aircraft Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” over the western Japanese city on August 6, 1945.
The bombing of the western Japanese city of Hiroshima was followed by the bombing of Nagasaki three days later, which led to Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II.
Little Boy, a uranium-powered nuclear bomb, unleashed a surge of heat reaching 4,000 degrees Celsius, while Fat Man was a plutonium-powered nuclear bomb with an explosive power equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT.
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Disarmament
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the divisions within the international community over nuclear disarmament are deepening, and the current security environment is growing increasingly severe.
In a speech, Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui warned of “an accelerating trend toward military buildup around the world”, against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the chaos in the Middle East, AFP reported.
“These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history.”
No apology
On the eve of the ceremony, people began lining up to pay their respects to the victims in front of the cenotaph.
Wednesday’s ceremony was set to include a record of around 120 countries and regions, including, for the first time, Taiwanese and Palestinian representatives.
The United States — which has never formally apologised for the bombings — was represented by its ambassador to Japan. Russia and China were absent
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that “the very weapons that brought such devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki are once again being treated as tools of coercion”.
Hiroshima
The tragedy of the atomic bombings was reflected in the poem “Hiroshima” by Anonymous:
Noon and hazy heat,
A single silver sliver and a dull drone.
A gloved finger, poised, pressed
A seconds silence, then oblivion.
Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million, but the attacks live on in the memories of many.
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Additional reporting by AFP
