Hiroshima [Japan], August 6 : Thousands gathered in Hiroshima on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the world's first wartime use of a nuclear bomb, as survivors, officials and representatives from 120 countries and territories renewed calls for global disarmament, Al Jazeera reported.
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped a uranium bomb, codenamed Little Boy, over the western Japanese city, killing roughly 78,000 people instantly. Tens of thousands more died by the end of the year from burns and radiation exposure. Three days later, Nagasaki was hit with a plutonium bomb, leading to Japan's surrender on August 15 and the end of World War II.
At Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, located almost directly beneath the detonation site, delegates from a record number of international countries and regions attended the annual memorial.
Reporting from the park, Al Jazeera's Fadi Salameh said, "The ceremony procedure is almost the same throughout the years I've been covering it. It starts at eight o'clock with the children and people offering flowers and then water to represent helping the victims who survived the atomic bombing at that time. Then at exactly 8:15... a moment of silence. After that, the mayor of Hiroshima reads out the declaration of peace in which they call for the abolition of nuclear weapons around the world."
School children from across Japan read the "Promise of Peace," delivering statements of hope and remembrance. The ceremony also featured a message from the representative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, urging global peace, Al Jazeera reported.
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui warned of "the dangers of rising global militarism," criticising leaders who insist nuclear weapons are essential for national security. "Among the world's political leaders, there is a growing belief that possessing nuclear weapons is unavoidable in order to protect their own countries," he said, adding that the United States and Russia still hold 90 percent of the world's nuclear warheads.
"This situation not only nullifies the lessons the international community has learned from the tragic history of the past, but also seriously undermines the frameworks that have been built for peace-building. To all the leaders around the world: please visit Hiroshima and witness for yourselves the reality of the atomic bombing."
Survivors of the bombings, known as hibakusha, once faced discrimination due to unfounded fears of disease and genetic effects. Their numbers have now fallen below 100,000 for the first time.
Japan maintains its commitment to nuclear disarmament but remains outside the UN treaty banning nuclear weapons, according to Al Jazeera.
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