Thousands of people gathered in Hiroshima to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the world’s first wartime use of a nuclear bomb. The western Japanese city was flattened on August 6, 1945, when the United States dropped a uranium bomb, codenamed Little Boy. Roughly 78,000 people were killed instantly, and tens of thousands more would die by the end of the year due to burns and radiation exposure.
The attack on Hiroshima, followed three days later by a plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki, led to Japan’s surrender on August 15 and the end of the second world war. At Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park on Wednesday, where the bomb detonated almost directly overhead eight decades ago, delegates from a record number of international countries and regions attended the annual memorial.
Hiroshima’s mayor, Kazumi Matsui, warned of the dangers of rising global militarism, criticizing world leaders who argue that nuclear weapons are necessary for national security. “Among the world’s political leaders, there is a growing belief that possessing nuclear weapons is unavoidable in order to protect their own countries,” he said, noting that the United States and Russia still hold 90 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads.
“This situation not only nullifies the lessons the international community has learned from the tragic history of the past, but also seriously undermines the frameworks that have been built for peace-building,” Matsui said. “To all the leaders around the world: please visit Hiroshima and witness for yourselves the reality of the atomic bombing.” Many attendees echoed that call, including 71-year-old Yoshikazu Horie, who told Reuters, “It feels more and more like history is repeating itself… I want peace so my grandchildren can live their lives happily.”
The ceremony included a message from the representative of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, urging global peace. Schoolchildren from across Japan participated in the “Promise of Peace” – reading statements of hope and remembrance. Survivors of the bombings – known as hibakusha – once faced discrimination over unfounded fears of disease and genetic effects. Their numbers have fallen below 100,000 for the first time this year.
Japan maintains a stated commitment to nuclear disarmament, but remains outside the UN treaty banning nuclear weapons. The commemoration serves as a reminder of the devastating effects of nuclear warfare and the importance of working towards a world without nuclear weapons.