Nagasaki mayor calls to end nuclear weapons on bombing anniversary

Nagasaki city in Japan on Wednesday (August 9) marked the 78th anniversary of the US atomic bombing, with its mayor urging world powers to abolish nuclear weapons.

In his peace declaration, Shiro Suzuki, whose parents were hibakusha or survivors of the Nagasaki attack, said nuclear deterrence actually risked a nuclear war.

Suzuki’s remark followed a document the Group of Seven industrial powers adopted in May that called for using nuclear weapons as deterrence.

Also read: Hiroshima Mayor labels nuclear deterrence folly on 78th bombing anniversary

“Now is the time to show courage and make the decision to break free from dependence on nuclear deterrence,” Suzuki said.

“As long as states are dependent on nuclear deterrence, we cannot realise a world without nuclear weapons.”

US bombing

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people.

A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

At 11.02 am, the moment the American bomb exploded above Nagasaki, participants at the ceremony observed a moment of silence with the sound of a peace bell.

Suzuki said Russia’s nuclear threat vis-à-vis the West had encouraged other nuclear power states to accelerate their dependence on nuclear weapons or enhance capabilities, further increasing the risk of nuclear war.

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The mayor expressed concern that the Japanese tragedy was being forgotten as time passed.

The concern comes after widespread reaction to social media posts about the “Barbenheimer” (Barbie and Oppenheimer movies) summer blitz that have triggered outrage in Japan.

Suzuki said that knowing the reality of the atomic bombings was the starting point for achieving a world without nuclear weapons.

PM’s statement

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, has sought to showcase the G7 commitment to nuclear disarmament.

But he has angered the Japanese survivors for justifying nuclear arms possession for deterrence and for refusing to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

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As of March, 113,649 survivors, whose average age is 85, are certified as hibakusha and eligible for government medical support.

Many others, including those known as victims of the black rain that fell outside the initially designated areas, are still without support.

(With agency inputs)