Japan Commemorates 78th Anniversary of Hiroshima Atomic Bombing
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Japan marked the 78th anniversary of the devastating US atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Sunday, remembering one of history's most catastrophic wartime incidents.
People gathered at Peace Memorial Park to solemnly pay their respects to the victims.
During the ceremony, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida acknowledged the challenges in achieving nuclear disarmament due to the deepening divisions among countries.
He stated, "Today, the deepening divide among countries over nuclear disarmaments … is making the part more challenging, but because of these circumstances in our efforts to reap the worlds of these weapons rallying international momentum once more is much more meaningful."
In a related event on Friday, dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in San Francisco for an annual rally against nuclear weapons and to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A crowd of protesters gathered outside the lab, holding banners and signs with slogans such as, 'Speak out against the madness' and 'Nuclear weapons are illegal', demanding the worldwide abolition of weapons of mass destruction.
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima towards the end of World War Two, followed by another bomb on Nagasaki just three days later on August 9. The bombings resulted in the deaths of almost 200,000 people and caused numerous long-term injuries due to radiation exposure and subsequent fallout.
The bombings were justified as a way to accelerate the capitulation of the Empire of Japan. These attacks are the sole instance of nuclear weapons ever being used in a military conflict in the history of humanity.
