On the 77th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of August 6, 1945, Hiroshima renewed its call for intensified efforts to eliminate nuclear threats, urging younger generations to act in an increasingly unstable geopolitical climate.
At 8:15 a.m.—the exact moment the bomb fell—a bell tolled in the city’s Peace Memorial Park, marking a minute of silence. The American B-29 *Enola Gay* dropped the weapon that killed approximately 140,000 people. A second bomb struck Nagasaki on August 9, killing at least 74,000 mostly civilians and precipitating Japan’s unconditional surrender in World War II.
“Despite today’s fragility, we citizens must never give up,” declared Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui in his Peace Declaration at the ceremony. His appeal followed the Nobel Peace Prize award last year to *Nihon Hidankyo*, the group representing atomic bomb survivors (*hibakusha*) and their campaign for a nuclear-free world.
Matsui warned a record 120-country delegation: “Young leaders must recognize misguided policies on military spending, national security, and nuclear arms risk devastating, inhumane consequences. They must advance with this awareness to steer civil society toward consensus.”
Meanwhile, officially recognized survivors from both attacks fell below 100,000 for the first time, their average age now exceeding 86.
Reiterating past demands, Matsui urged Japan’s government to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as an observer and swiftly sign it as a “lesson of history.” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s speech omitted the treaty—consistent with Japan’s stance under U.S. nuclear protection. Despite being the sole atomic attack victim, Japan, like Israel, rejects the 1970 treaty banning nuclear weapons while supporting non-proliferation.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in a message that nuclear conflict risks are rising, noting such weapons “are again being treated as tools of coercion.”
© Copyright ANSA. All rights reserved.