Hiroshima remembers A-bomb victims as ‘global tragedies’ unfold
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Hundreds gathering at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park to mark the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO – The mayor of Hiroshima said on Aug 6 that wars in Ukraine and Gaza were deepening fear and distrust worldwide, on the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing that devastated the Japanese city.
Mr Kazumi Matsui made a sombre speech at a memorial event to commemorate the victims of the US nuclear attack on Aug 6, 1945, that left about 140,000 people dead.
“Russia’s protracted invasion of Ukraine and the worsening situation between Israel and Palestine are claiming the lives of countless innocent people and shattering normal life,” he said.
“These global tragedies are deepening distrust and fear among nations, reinforcing the public assumption that to solve international problems we have to rely on military force, which we should be rejecting.”
Days after the 1945 Hiroshima attack, a second American nuclear bomb hit Nagasaki in south-west Japan, killing around 74,000 people.
The two strikes led to the end of World War II, and to this day Japan remains the only country in the world to be hit by atomic weapons in wartime.
During the Aug 6 ceremony, dignitaries, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, all clad in black suits, bowed deeply and laid wreaths at the memorial cenotaph featuring the inscription “rest in peace”.
Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million people, but the ruins of a domed building stand in the city centre as a stark reminder of the attack’s horrors.
For the third year running, Russia and Belarus were not invited to the ceremony because of the Ukraine crisis
It was the city’s first peace memorial since Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza in 2023 following an attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida leading dignitaries in marking the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Aug 6, 1945.
PHOTO: AFP
The Israeli ambassador attended the ceremony as usual, but according to local media, Hiroshima has never invited a Palestinian representative.
“That an invitation wasn’t extended to Palestine is shocking,” the Permanent General Mission of Palestine to Japan said on social media platform X in July.
A city official said in June that Hiroshima called for a “ceasefire as soon as possible and resolution through dialogue” in its invitation letter to Israel.
Israel’s ambassador has not, however, been invited to the Nagasaki peace ceremony in 2024.
Nagasaki has said the decision was not politically motivated, but rather taken to avoid any unexpected trouble. AFP
