Japan held its annual peace ceremony in Hiroshima on Thursday, with representatives from a record 121 countries and regions attending to remember the estimated 140,000 people killed in the 1945 atomic bombing and to renew calls for global nuclear disarmament.
Hiroshima observed a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, marking the precise time the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city 81 years ago. The ceremony drew Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and dignitaries from 121 countries and regions, reflecting growing international attention to the commemoration. The blast and its radiation devastated the city, killing approximately 140,000 people by year's end, with many survivors continuing to suffer from radiation-related illnesses including cancer.
During the ceremony, Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi placed an updated roster of victims into the Peace Memorial Park's cenotaph, which now contains 353,639 names. He delivered a peace declaration urging world leaders to pursue immediate nuclear weapons abolition, stating that nuclear use would cause catastrophic damage to humanity and emphasizing that disarmament requires multilateral cooperation. Prime Minister Takaichi reiterated Japan's commitment to its Three Non-Nuclear Principles and positioned the nation as bearing special responsibility due to being "the only nation to suffer atomic bombings during war."
With approximately 91,000 survivors still living and averaging over 86 years old, younger generations are increasingly taking on the role of preserving historical memory. Descendants of survivors and students attending the ceremony expressed their commitment to passing down accounts of the bombing and its aftermath to future generations. As the survivor population continues to diminish, these efforts underscore the challenge of maintaining awareness of the bombing's impact in coming decades.
