On August 6, Hiroshima marked the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing by the United States at the end of World War II. The city's mayor called on world leaders to abandon nuclear weapons amid global conflicts, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.
In the Declaration of Peace read during the annual ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui called for unity and trust through dialogue to promote the abandonment of the nuclear deterrent.
"It seems to me that these global tragedies deepen mistrust and fear between nations, reinforcing the public assumption that to solve international problems we must rely on military force, which we should reject," Matsui said.
The mayor said the Cold War was ended thanks to the dialogue between Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, and then US President Ronald Reagan.
"To quell the suspicions and doubts that give rise to conflicts, civil society must foster a circle of trust through exchange and dialogue with consideration for others," the Hiroshima mayor said.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents a constituency in Hiroshima, warned in his speech at the ceremony that for the first time since the height of the Cold War, there was a reversal in the movement toward a world without nuclear weapons.
"It is our duty as the only country to have experienced the use of nuclear weapons in wartime to work steadfastly to realize a world without nuclear weapons," he said.
A minute's silence was observed at 8:15 a.m. - the exact time the nuclear bomb was dropped by the US bomber Enola Gay and detonated over the city on August 6, 1945, killing an estimated 140,000 people by the end of the year .
Around 50,000 people attended the ceremony, including representatives of 109 countries and the EU. All this comes at a time when Russia has repeatedly issued nuclear threats since its invasion of Ukraine, and Israel's war with Hamas risks escalating into a wider conflict.
The Hiroshima city government invited Israel, which is considered a nuclear power, along with a call for an immediate end to the conflict in the Palestinian territory, which has drawn increasing international opposition.
But the invitation was criticized by some as a double standard, as Russia and Belarus were barred from the ceremony for 3 consecutive years because of the invasion of Ukraine. The Palestinian embassy also criticized Hiroshima for not inviting Palestine to the ceremony.
During the ceremony, Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, read a statement from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in which he noted: "Since last year, global mistrust and division have only deepened. Some recklessly rattling the nuclear saber again."
"The world must unite to condemn this unacceptable behavior. And we must find new solutions to breathe life into disarmament," the statement said.
In the declaration, Hiroshima's mayor also called on all world leaders to visit the city in the hope that they would "gain a deeper understanding of the atomic bombing" and "make a compelling call for the abolition of nuclear weapons."
In his speech, Matsui also expressed regret that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference failed to adopt a conclusion document for the second time in a row. He said the impasse "reveals a stark reality, namely the vast disparity between states in terms of nuclear weapons."
Three days after the bomb called "The Kid" destroyed Hiroshima, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. 6 days later, Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, marking the end of World War II.
The total number of officially recognized survivors of the two nuclear attacks, known as hibakushi, was 106,825 as of March this year, down 6,824 from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare . Their average age exceeds 85 years. | BGNES
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