Hiroshima Marks 55th A-Bomb Anniversary
H I R O S H I M A, Japan, Aug 6 -- Heads bowed as a peace bell rang in Hiroshima today, honoring the memory of those who died 55 years ago when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city.
About 50,000 people, including aging survivors of the blast and Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, gathered at Hiroshima’s Peace Park for a memorial ceremony near the spot where a U.S. bomberdropped an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. A minute of silent prayer began at 8:15 a.m. local time — the exact moment 55 years ago when the bomb exploded above the city.
Paper cranes symbolizing peace were draped at many spots around the park while incense burned in prayer alters and tears flowed freely as people remembered the atomic bombing.
The Hiroshima bomb killed some 140,000 people — two in five of the city’s residents — by the end of 1945. The city of Nagasaki was bombed three days after Hiroshima, killing 70,000 people. Japan surrendered Aug. 15, ending World War II.
In a solemn ceremony attended by black-clad survivors of the blast, uniformed schoolchildren, and Hiroshima residents today, the names of 5,021 bomb victims were added to the list of Hiroshima’s dead, bringing the total to 217,137.
The new names are those of people who have died recently from the effects of the bomb — a toll that rises by a few thousand per year.
A Stand Against Nuclear Arms
As several hundred anti-nuclear activists staged a “die-in” by lying down in front of the domed building near ground zero that miraculously survived the blast, Prime Minister Mori pledged to promote nuclear disarmament.
He told reporters at the atomic bombing museum that Japan is ready to submit a draft resolution to eliminate nuclear weapons at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly session.
“Our nation, being the only nation to suffer an A-bomb, will appeal to all nations to work for a world without nuclear weapons and for eternal peace, under the Japanese constitution and triple nuclear principle, with a strong determination that the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should never be repeated,” Mori said.
