Nagaski’s mayor yesterday pleaded for an end to conflicts raging worldwide on the 80th anniversary of the US atom bomb attack which destroyed the Japanese city.
‘Eighty years since that day, who could have imagined our world would become like this? Immediately cease from disputes in which force is met with force,’ Shiro Suzuki said during a solemn ceremony at Nagasaki peace park.
He added: ‘To make Nagasaki the last atomic bombing site for ever, we will go hand-in-hand with global citizens and devote our efforts toward the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realisation of everlasting world peace.’
The US dropped the bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, killing 70,000 by the end of that year, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima that killed 140,000.
It forced Japan’s surrender on August 15, 1945, ending the war.
At 11:02am yesterday, the exact time when the plutonium bomb exploded above Nagasaki, officials from more than 90 countries joined in a moment of silence at the peace park as a bell rang.
Dozens of doves were released after the speech by Mr Suzuki, whose parents survived the attack.
Water offerings were made in a symbolic gesture to remember blast victims whose skin was burning and who begged for water.
Nagaski’s mayor, Shiro Suzuki (pictured) yesterday pleaded for an end to conflicts raging worldwide on the 80th anniversary of the US atom bomb attack which destroyed the Japanese city
The US dropped the bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, killing 70,000 by the end of that year, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima that killed 140,000. It forced Japan ’s surrender on August 15, 1945, ending the war
At 11:02am yesterday, the exact time when the plutonium bomb exploded above Nagasaki, officials from more than 90 countries joined in a moment of silence at the peace park as a bell rang. Pictured: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba
Some survivors and their families prayed at churches in Nagasaki, home to Catholic converts persecuted in feudal times. The twin bells at Urakami Cathedral, which was destroyed in the bombing, also rang together again
Survivors and their families gathered at the peace park and nearby hypocentre park – the bomb’s detonation spot – hours before the ceremony.
‘I simply seek a world without war,’ said Koichi Kawano, 85, who laid flowers at the hypocentre monument.
Others prayed at churches in Nagasaki, home to Catholic converts persecuted in feudal times.
The twin bells at Urakami Cathedral, which was destroyed in the bombing, also rang together again after one of the bells that had gone missing following the attack was restored by volunteers.
Despite their pain from wounds, discrimination and illnesses from radiation, survivors have publicly committed to a shared goal of abolishing nuclear weapons.
But they fear the world is moving in the opposite direction.
‘There are only two things I long for: the abolition of nuclear weapons and prohibition of war,’ said survivor Fumi Takeshita.
‘I only see a world where nuclear weapons are never used and everyone can live in peace.’
