Hiroshima commemorated the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing Wednesday, renewing calls for nuclear disarmament amid growing global fears of nuclear conflict.
At 8:15 a.m. local time – the exact moment the Enola Gay dropped "Little Boy" over Hiroshima in 1945 – about 55,000 people observed a moment of silence at Peace Memorial Park.
The blast instantly killed tens of thousands; by the end of that year, an estimated 140,000 had died. Three days later, Nagasaki faced a similar fate, and Japan surrendered soon after, ending World War II.
Mayor Kazumi Matsui placed an updated list of 349,246 victims in the park’s cenotaph and urged younger generations worldwide to learn the painful lessons of Hiroshima.
“Misguided decisions on military spending and nuclear weapons risk inhumane consequences,” he warned, pointing to current global conflicts and the threat of nuclear arms resurgence.
