Hiroshima marks 81st anniversary as survivors protest Japan's military buildup under PM Takaichi

Ceremony at Peace Memorial Park

About 50,000 people, including hibakusha survivors and bereaved families, gathered at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on August 6 for the annual peace ceremony marking 81 years since the U.S. atomic bombing. Representatives from a record 121 countries and regions plus the European Union attended. China and Russia did not participate, while the United States sent the deputy chief of mission from its embassy in Tokyo. At 8:15 a.m., the exact moment the bomb fell on August 6, 1945, participants observed one minute of silent prayer as the Peace Bell rang.

Mayor's peace declaration

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui used his annual peace declaration to urge policymakers worldwide to implement nuclear abolition policies. He warned that trivializing the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and accepting the use of force to pursue prosperity risks driving a spiral of violent retaliation that could lead to another Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Matsui criticized the failure of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference held in New York in May, the third consecutive summit to end without a joint final document, and blamed politicians who shift responsibility to others while ignoring treaty obligations.

“How much longer do you intend to disappoint us?”

Matsui urged the Japanese government to participate in the review conference for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, scheduled for November, and to enhance support for hibakusha.

Takaichi reaffirms principles amid policy shift

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the ceremony that Japan, as the only nation attacked with a nuclear weapon, has a mission to pursue a world without nuclear weapons. She stressed adherence to the three non-nuclear principles of not possessing, not producing, and not permitting nuclear weapons on Japanese territory, adopted by parliament in 1971.

“Never again. We have the duty to call for a world without nuclear weapons.”

However, under Takaichi's leadership, Japan has doubled its defense budget, relaxed weapons export restrictions, and expanded its military role, citing risks from China, North Korea, and Russia. The government celebrated a successful Tomahawk missile test earlier in the week, a message intended for China.

Survivors and citizens protest

Thousands of protesters gathered in Hiroshima from Wednesday evening, demonstrating against Takaichi's policies with signs reading "No to Takaichi's presence at commemorations." Hibakusha Kunihiko Sakuma rejected the government's deterrence logic, saying that thinking more nuclear weapons guarantee peace is a grave error. Masako Wada, deputy secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo and a Nagasaki survivor, told Deutsche Welle that Japan earned international trust through its pacifist constitution but that the current government is destroying that trust.

Masashi Ieshima, an 84-year-old Hiroshima survivor and chair of Toyukai, a Nihon Hidankyo affiliate in Tokyo, said he was angered by Japan justifying military buildup and weapons export relaxation citing a possible conflict in Taiwan.

“If Japan continues down this path, it could lead to war. And if another war breaks out, I believe it will be a nuclear war.”

The average age of hibakusha now approaches 87 years.

Prayer vigil and historical toll

Monsignor Shirahama, bishop of Hiroshima and son of a Nagasaki survivor, led a prayer vigil organized by Sant'Egidio connecting Hiroshima, New York, and Rome. He said that Jesus gave the example that nonviolence, not force, can convert the human heart and lead to true peace. The U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. Rai News reports 140,000 dead from the Hiroshima bombing, while Deutsche Welle gives a figure of nearly 80,000 killed. AP reports 70,000 dead from the second bomb over Nagasaki three days later.