The Japanese city of Hiroshima marked the 81st anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing on Thursday with a renewed appeal for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, warning that growing global tensions have increased the risk of another nuclear catastrophe.
During the annual memorial ceremony, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui urged world leaders to reject the use of nuclear weapons as instruments of intimidation and called for stronger international efforts toward nuclear disarmament.
In his Peace Declaration, Matsui warned that ignoring the devastating humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and relying on military force could lead to another tragedy similar to Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
He criticised political leaders for justifying their actions by blaming others, saying such behaviour undermines global peace and weakens international efforts to prevent nuclear conflict.
Matsui also expressed disappointment that the latest Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference ended without a consensus agreement for the third consecutive time.
He urged policymakers to recognise that any use of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic consequences and stressed that nuclear disarmament can only be achieved through multilateral cooperation.
A moment of silence was observed at 8.15am, the exact time the US bomber Enola Gay dropped the uranium bomb over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing an estimated 140,000 people by the end of that year.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who attended the ceremony, reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to its long-standing three non-nuclear principles of not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on its territory.
She said Japan, as the only country to have experienced atomic bombings during wartime, has a responsibility to continue leading global efforts toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
Takaichi acknowledged that achieving nuclear disarmament remains difficult, especially after the NPT review conference failed to reach an agreement, but insisted that international efforts must continue.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in a statement delivered by UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu, warned that the global safeguards preventing nuclear war are under increasing strain.
He urged world leaders to choose dialogue over confrontation and cooperation over conflict to reduce the risk of nuclear escalation.
With the number of surviving atomic bomb victims, known as hibakusha, continuing to decline, Matsui called on younger generations to carry forward the campaign for a world without nuclear weapons.
He also urged the Japanese government to participate as an observer at the upcoming review conference of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in November.
Japan has not joined the treaty because it remains under the protection of the United States’ nuclear umbrella for national defence.
Three days after Hiroshima was bombed, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, prompting Japan’s surrender six days later and bringing World War II to an end.
According to Hiroshima city officials, the average age of officially recognised hibakusha has now exceeded 86 years.
