Hiroshima Calls on Youth to Fight Nuclear Threats on 80th Atomic Bomb Anniversary

HIROSHIMA (Japan), Aug 6 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Hiroshima on Wednesday called on young people to take the lead in ridding the world of nuclear weapons, and appealed to nations to rise above self-interest to end conflicts, as the city marked the 80th anniversary of the US atomic bombing.

“Despite the current turmoil at the nation-state level, we, the people, must never give up,” Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said in the Peace Declaration during the annual memorial ceremony, Kyodo news agency reported.

“Our youth, the leaders of future generations, must recognise that misguided policies regarding military spending, national security and nuclear weapons could bring utterly inhumane consequences.

“We encourage them to step forward with this understanding and lead civil society towards consensus,” he added.

Matsui called on world leaders to visit Hiroshima to witness the consequences of nuclear warfare, and urged nations increasing their military power to pursue dialogue and reduce reliance on nuclear weapons.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said in his speech that it is Japan’s mission, as the only nation to have experienced nuclear devastation in war, to lead global efforts to realise a world free of nuclear weapons.

A moment of silence was observed at 8.15 am, the exact time the uranium bomb dropped by the US bomber Enola Gay detonated over Hiroshima on Aug 6, 1945.

By year’s end, the blast had killed an estimated 140,000 people.

The ceremony followed the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers’ Organisations, for its decades-long campaign against nuclear weapons.

With the 80-year milestone, a record 120 countries and regions attended the ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park near the hypocentre, according to Hiroshima city officials.

Three days after the Hiroshima bombing, the US dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered six days later, ending World War II.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO