Hiroshima 1945: Japan Denounces Russian Nuclear Threats and Advocates for a Nuclear-Free World

2023-08-06 05:29:10

Hiroshima 1945

Japan denounces Russian nuclear threats

The Japanese Prime Minister noted the growing divisions within the international community jeopardizing the path of denuclearization chosen by his country.

Posted6 August 2023, 07:29

People walk to the cenotaph for the victims of the atomic bomb at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on August 6, 2023, to mark the 78th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bomb attack.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (L) prepares to lay a wreath in memory of the victims during a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of the world’s first atomic attack at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on 6 August 2023.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of the world’s first atomic attack, at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on August 6, 2023.

People pray in front of the cenotaph for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing, on the anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing, in the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo on August 6, 2023

Kyodo/via REUTERS

People visit and say prayers at sunrise at the cenotaph for the victims of the atomic bomb at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on August 6, 2023, to mark the 78th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bomb attack.

People look at the lanterns (C) lit and placed on the Motoyasu River near the Atomic Bomb Dome (behind) in remembrance of the victims in Hiroshima, August 5, 2023, on the eve of ceremonies marking the 78th anniversary of the first attack to the atomic bomb in the world.

People visit the cenotaph for the victims of the atomic bomb before sunrise in the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on August 6, 2023, on the 78th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bomb attack .

Lanterns are lit and placed on the Motoyasu River near the A-Bomb Dome (behind) in remembrance of the victims in Hiroshima, August 5, 2023, on the eve of ceremonies marking the 78th anniversary of the first atomic bomb attack in the world.

Japan’s prime minister on Sunday denounced Russian threats to use its nuclear weapons, as Japan marks the 78th anniversary of the United States’ atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and another 74,000 in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki three days later at the end of World War II.

“The devastation wrought by nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki can never be repeated,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a ceremony in Hiroshima. “Japan, the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings during the war, will continue its efforts for a nuclear-free world,” argued Mr. Kishida, whose family is from Hiroshima. “The path to this goal is becoming increasingly difficult due to growing divisions within the international community over nuclear disarmament and the nuclear threat from Russia,” he said. “Given this situation, it is all the more important to restore international momentum towards the achievement of a nuclear-free world”, he underlined.

His comments echo those of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, published in a statement on the occasion of these commemorations, where he regrets that “some countries are once once more waving the nuclear saber recklessly, threatening to use these tools of annihilation”. “In the face of these threats, the global community must speak with one voice. Any use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable,” Mr. Guterres added.

During the ceremony, thousands of people, including survivors, relatives, loved ones and foreign dignitaries from 111 countries (a record), prayed for the victims killed or injured in the bombardment and called for peace in the world.

Russia and Belarus not invited

For the second year in a row, Hiroshima did not invite Russia or Belarus to attend the ceremony due to the war in Ukraine. Attendees, mostly dressed in black, held a silent prayer at 8.15 a.m. (2315 GMT Saturday), as the first nuclear weapon ever to be used in wartime was dropped on Hiroshima . Mr Kishida hosted the G7 summit in the city earlier this year where he tried to make nuclear disarmament a priority, taking leaders of wealthier democracies to visit the memorials and museum in the Peace Park of Hiroshima.

These commemorations were preceded by the recent release in the United States of the film “Oppenheimer”, a biopic by Christopher Nolan on J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the creators of the American atomic weapon which will strike Hiroshima and Nagasaki. No release date has been announced in Japan and the film may not screen there at all.

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