TOKYO — Hiroshima officials on Tuesday urged world leaders to stop relying on nuclear weapons as a deterrent and take immediate steps toward their abolition, not as an ideal but to eliminate the risk of atomic war amid conflicts in Ukraine and Middle East and rising tensions in East Asia.
They commented as Hiroshima remembered its atomic bombing 79 years ago at the end of World War II.
The monument comes days after Japan and the United States He reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to “extended deterrence.” which includes atomic weapons, to protect its Asian ally. It is a change from Japan’s previous reluctance to openly discuss the sensitive issue as the only country in the world to have suffered atomic attacks.
Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki said nuclear-armed nations and supporters of atomic deterrence “deliberately ignore… the fact that once people invented a weapon, they used it without exception.”
“As long as nuclear weapons exist, they will surely be used again one day,” Yuzaki said in his speech at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
“The abolition of nuclear weapons is not an ideal to be achieved in the distant future. Rather, it is a pressing and real issue that we should desperately address right now, as nuclear issues pose an imminent risk to human survival,” he stated.
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said Russia’s war against Ukraine and the worsening conflict between Israel and the Palestinians are “deepening mistrust and fear among nations” and reinforcing the view that the use of force to resolving the conflict is inevitable.
The atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 destroyed the city and killed 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later in Nagasaki killed an additional 70,000 people. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II and nearly half a century of Japanese aggression in Asia.
Some 50,000 people present at the ceremony observed a minute of silence with the ringing of a peace bell at 8:15 a.m., the time when an American B-29 dropped the bomb on the city. Hundreds of white doves, considered symbols of peace, were released.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who attended the ceremony, said global conflicts and divided opinions on approaches to nuclear disarmament make achieving that goal “even more challenging,” but pledged to do everything possible to seek “realistic and practical measures.” to generate momentum within the international community.
Critics say it’s an empty promise because Japan depends on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for protection and has been rapidly expanding its military.
Japan, the United States and other regional allies have been stepping up security cooperation in response to a more assertive China and growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. Japan has sought greater U.S. protection for its nuclear capabilities.
Many bombing survivors suffer lasting injuries and illnesses as a result of the explosions and radiation exposure and have faced discrimination in Japan.
As of March, 106,823 survivors (6,824 fewer than a year ago and now with an average age of 85.58 years) are certified as eligible for government medical support, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Many others, including those who say they were victims of the radioactive “black rain” that fell outside the initially designated areas of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, remain without support.
Hiroshima officials called on Kishida’s government to do more to provide support and address their wishes.
The surviving elders, known as “hibakusha,” continue to push for a ban on nuclear weapons while desperately campaigning for younger generations to keep their effort alive.
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