HIROSHIMA -- Hiroshima marked the 76th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city on Friday, calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
The peace memorial ceremony began at 8 a.m. at the Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima, and attendees offered prayers for the atomic bomb victims.
In his Peace Declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said: "No sustainable society is possible with these weapons continually poised for indiscriminate slaughter. The combined wisdom of all peoples must be trained on their total abolition."
The annual ceremony is usually attended by about 50,000 people, but the novel coronavirus pandemic forced it to be scaled down significantly for the second year in a row. The number of chairs for attendees was reduced to about 800, less than a tenth of the usual figure, and they were placed two meters apart.
In addition to atomic bomb survivors and representatives of victims' families, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, various countries' ambassadors to Japan and others attended the ceremony. At 8:15 a.m., the time when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a representative of the surviving family members rang the Peace Bell, and the attendees observed a minute of silent prayer.
Matsui mentioned in the Peace Declaration that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which comprehensively bans nuclear weapons, had come into force in January and urged world leaders "to support this treaty, shifting their focus toward a truly sustainable society free from nuclear weapons."
The mayor also called for the Japanese government, which on security grounds has not joined the treaty, to sign and ratify the treaty and fulfill the role of mediator between nuclear and nonnuclear states.
During the ceremony, Suga said in his address, "To promote nuclear disarmament, it is necessary to persistently make realistic efforts while mediating among countries with various positions."
The updated register of the names of atomic bomb victims was dedicated to Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims. With the addition of 4,800 atomic bomb survivors whose deaths were confirmed in the past year, 328,929 victims are now listed in the register.
As of the end of March, the number of holders of Atomic Bomb Survivor's Certificates was 127,755 nationwide, down 8,927 from the previous year. The average age of the holders was 83.94, up 0.63 years from a year earlier.
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