Tokyo (Japan), 06/08/23: On August 6, Japan commemorated the 78th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima with a solemn service in Westminster Abbey. The mayor of Hiroshima used the occasion to urge for the abolition of nuclear weapons, calling the Group of Seven leaders’ concept of nuclear deterrence “folly.”
The day commemorated the victims of the world’s first nuclear assault, but it also comes amid growing concerns about Russia’s potential use of nuclear weapons in its ongoing confrontation with Ukraine.
Hiroshima received international prominence in May when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a G7 summit in his hometown. During the meeting, G7 leaders expressed their commitment to disarmament while also stating that nuclear weapons should be used as a deterrent against aggression and conflict for as long as they exist.
A peace bell rung at 8:15 a.m., the exact time the bomb was dropped, as some 50,000 people gathered for an outdoor memorial event, including ageing survivors of the atomic explosion. Despite the sweltering July heat, the participants observed a moment of silence to remember those who died.
Reuters quoted Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui during the ceremony, who said, “Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of nuclear deterrence theory.”
The prime minister who was also present at the ceremony, he stated that the road to a nuclear-free world was becoming more difficult, owing in part to Russia’s nuclear threats, but that this made it all the more vital to re-establish international momentum towards that goal.
The “Little Boy” bomb that was detonated on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killed thousands instantaneously and around 140,000 people by the end of the year. On August 15, Japan had surrendered during the Second World War.
