Japan observes 77th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing

Tokyo: The 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in the final days of World War II was marked by Japan on Saturday.

At 8.15 am on August 6, a moment of silence was observed at the exact moment a U.S. bomber detonated a uranium bomb over the city, killing an estimated 140,000 people and exposing many more to harmful radiation by the end of the year. Xinhua News Agency reports.

At the commemoration at Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui warned in a peace declaration that the world's reliance on nuclear deterrence was gaining strength.

"We must immediately render all nuclear buttons meaningless," he said.

Also in attendance at the ceremony were Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, representatives from 99 countries, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the first chief of the world body to attend the event in 12 years.

In his speech, Guterres warned that a new arms race is accelerating.

The Prime Minister said, "Japan will pursue this goal despite global security tensions, and while following the three principles of not possessing, producing or permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons into the country".

More than 3,000 members of the public also turned out for the ceremony, a substantial increase in the crowds in 2020 and 2021, the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic, says public broadcaster NHK.

Officials placed a list of victims of the bombing back in a cenotaph, following the addition of the names of 4,978 people who died or were confirmed dead over the past year.

The total now stands at 333,907.

The average age of atomic bomb survivors is now more than 84.

With inputs from IANS