Survivors mark 75th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing
The dwindling number of witnesses to the world’s first atomic bombing in Hiroshima were among those marking the 75th anniversary of the slaughter.
Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui urged world leaders to more seriously commit to nuclear disarmament, pointing out Japan’s failures.
In a speech, Mr Matsui highlighted what survivors feel is the hypocrisy of Japan’s government, which hosts 50,000 American troops and is protected by the US nuclear umbrella.
Tokyo has not signed the nuclear weapons ban treaty adopted in 2017, despite its non-nuclear pledge, a failure to act that atomic bombing survivors and pacifist groups call insincere.
He said: “I ask the Japanese government to heed the appeal of the (bombing survivors) to sign, ratify and become a party to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
“As the only nation to suffer a nuclear attack, Japan must persuade the global public to unite with the spirit of Hiroshima.”
The US dropped its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people, mostly civilians and including many children.
The US dropped a second bomb three days later on Nagasaki, killing another 70,000 and Japan surrendered August 15 ending the Second World War.
Survivors, their relatives and other participants marked the 8.15am blast anniversary on Thursday with a minute of silence.
Thursday’s peace ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was scaled down, with the number of attendants reduced to fewer than 1,000, or one-tenth of past years, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some survivors and their relatives visited and prayed at the park’s cenotaph hours before the ceremony began.
The registry of the atomic bombing victims is stored at the cenotaph, whose inscription reads “Let all the souls here rest in peace for we shall not repeat the mistake”.
On the 75th anniversary, elderly survivors, whose average age now exceeds 83, lamented the slow progress of nuclear disarmament.
They expressed anger over what they said was the Japanese government’s reluctance to help and listen to those who suffered from the atomic bombing.
“Many survivors are offended by the prime minister of this country who does not sign the nuclear weapons prohibition treaty,” said Keiko Ogura, 84, who survived the atomic bombing at age eight.
“We need non-nuclear states to help us and pressure the Japanese government into signing.”
Mr Matsui urged world leaders, especially those from nuclear weapons states, to visit Hiroshima and see the reality of the atomic bombing.