Hiroshima marks 71st anniversary of atomic bombing
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN— Hiroshima marked the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city on Saturday with a ceremony attended by 50,000 people.
The attendees mourned the atomic bomb victims and renewed their pledge for peace in a memorial ceremony held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
In the peace declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui called for international co-operation for the abolition of nuclear weapons and quoted from the statement made by U.S. President Barack Obama when he became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima in May.
In addition to survivors and representatives of the families of victims from all 47 Japanese prefectures, the ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, representa- tives from 91countries and a European Union delegation.
The names of victims whose deaths were confirmed in the past year were added to the list of deceased at the cenotaph for the atomic bomb victims, bringing the total to 303,195.
Representatives from the United States, Britain, France and Russia attended.
From the United States, Robert Rapson, minister in charge of political affairs, attended as chargé d’affaires.
At 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, representatives of families of the deceased and others rang the Hiroshima Peace Bell, and attendees offered silent prayers.
In his peace declaration, Matsui quoted Obama’s remarks, saying that “among those nations . . . that hold nuclear stockpiles, we must have the courage to escape the logic of fear, and pursue a world without them.”
Matsui said Obama’s statement reflected the victims’ belief that such a horrific tragedy should not be experienced by anyone else, and called for other world leaders to visit the bombed city.