In Japan, people commemorated the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States 80 years ago. On Wednesday morning, a minute of silence was observed. Hundreds of government officials, students, and survivors dressed in black laid flowers at the Peace Memorial. The nearby Atomic Bomb Dome, a ruin left standing after the attack, serves as a powerful symbol of the devastating use of nuclear weapons on August 6, 1945. Political Statements In his speech, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui warned of the growing global military buildup.
“These developments blatantly ignore the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history,” Matsui said. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated that it is Japan’s duty “to take the lead on the path toward a world without nuclear weapons.” Cerstin Gammelin, spokesperson for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, wrote on the X platform:
“The world must never forget what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Steinmeier called on the international community to do everything in its power “to prevent the horrors of any future use of nuclear weapons.” On the same occasion, Pope Leo XIV also declared that Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain “living monuments of the profound horrors” caused by nuclear weapons “in our time of growing global tensions and conflict.”
Survivors Remember The Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, which received the Nobel Peace Prize last year, represents the steadily shrinking number of survivors of the atomic bombings. According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, there were still 99,130 “hibakusha” (as the survivors are known) as of March. Toshiyuki Mimaki, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, told Japanese media ahead of the ceremony:
“I wish that foreign envoys would visit the Peace Memorial and truly understand what happened.” Historical Review On the morning of August 6, 1945, a U.S. Army bomber dropped a uranium bomb on Hiroshima. Approximately 140,000 people died immediately or in the following months. Three days later, another U.S. nuclear bomb killed around 74,000 people in the city of Nagasaki.
A few weeks later, World War II ended with Japan’s surrender. International Representation According to city officials, representatives from 120 countries and regions are attending this year’s memorial ceremony in Hiroshima, including the European Union. However, nuclear powers such as Russia, China, and Pakistan are not participating. Iran—accused of developing a nuclear weapon—is attending. Amid rising global tensions, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warned in June that a “new and dangerous nuclear arms race” is emerging as nearly all nine nuclear-armed states are modernizing their arsenals.
