HIROSHIMA, JAPAN / RankWire.AI / – Hiroshima commemorated the 81st anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing on Thursday with a renewed call to eliminate nuclear weapons. Mayor Kazumi Matsui addressed survivors, families, government officials and foreign representatives at the city’s Peace Memorial Park. A bell rang at 8:15 a.m., the moment the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Participants then observed a minute of silence in memory of those killed by the attack and its aftermath.
Matsui used Hiroshima’s annual Peace Declaration to challenge the continued reliance on nuclear deterrence. He urged political leaders in nuclear armed countries to recognize the humanitarian consequences of atomic weapons and push for disarmament. The mayor also encouraged policymakers to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki and listen directly to hibakusha, the survivors of the two bombings. Hiroshima has long made survivor testimony and nuclear abolition central to its memorials and peace initiatives.
Around 50,000 people participated in the event. Representatives from 121 countries and regions also took part, including the European Union. For the first time as Japan’s prime minister, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attended the Hiroshima memorial. She stated that Japan aims for a realistic approach to a world without nuclear weapons. Takaichi also highlighted the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a vital framework for disarmament and referenced Japan’s longstanding three non-nuclear principles.
Nuclear diplomacy remains under pressure
The ceremony came after the 2026 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, which ended in May without reaching consensus on a final document. This marked the third consecutive NPT review without an agreement. Matsui pointed to the international environment as he urged governments to intensify efforts for nuclear disarmament. Japan supports the NPT framework but has not signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The country continues to rely on the United States nuclear umbrella as part of their security alliance.
During the Hiroshima event, the United Nations delivered a message from Secretary-General António Guterres. UN disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu read the message on his behalf. Guterres highlighted global divisions, rising mistrust, and renewed pressure on long-standing nuclear arms control. He warned that reductions in nuclear arsenals are reversing. The UN called for increased diplomacy, dialogue, international law, and multilateral cooperation to promote nuclear disarmament.
The legacy of hibakusha remains vital to Hiroshima
Japan officially recognizes 91,105 atomic bomb survivors, known as hibakusha. Their average age now exceeds 86. As their numbers decline, efforts to preserve firsthand accounts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki grow more urgent. Survivors have spent decades sharing stories of the explosions, fires, and radiation. They continue to call for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Children representing Hiroshima also took part in Thursday’s ceremony, expressing their dedication to peace. The city maintains survivor testimony through memorial programs, museums, and public education initiatives.
By the end of 1945, the Hiroshima atomic bombing caused an estimated 140,000 deaths. Three days later, the United States dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing about 70,000 people by year’s end. Japan announced its surrender on August 15. World War II officially ended in September. Hiroshima later established Peace Memorial Park, serving as a place for remembrance and peace education. Now, 81 years after the bombing, the city continues to emphasize nuclear abolition and the human toll of atomic warfare in its message.