Hiroshima Marks 55th A-Bomb Anniversary

H I R O S H I M A, Japan, Aug 6, 2000 -- 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.

Japan’s informally accepted “triple nuclear principle” provides for the country not to make, possess or bring in nuclear weapons.

Keeping Memory Alive

Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba also called for the immediate endof nuclear weapons. And he urged that what many people considerthe most important event of the 20th century not be forgotten inthe 21st century.

The average age of atomic blast survivors is now 70,according to government figures.

“We have to establish a way of expressing the memory ofthis event in the course of humanity and pass it on to the nextgeneration,” Akiba said.

After Akiba spoke, 1,500 doves were released into the sky.

Hundreds of survivors who were not strong enough to attendthe ceremony watched from nursing homes in the city, clutchingprayer beads as they watched the proceedings on television.

Along the city’s riverbanks, some elderly survivors hadtheir own private moment to remember as they stared out atwaterways that, 55 years ago, were choked with charred corpses.

Scientists estimate the yield of the bomb that decimated Hiroshima was about 12,000 kilotons. A kiloton is the equivalent of 1,000 pounds of explosives.

The ceremony was marred slightly by a man in his twentieswho jumped in front of the prime minister’s car as he left thepark for the atomic bombing museum.

Police said the man was arrested on suspicion of trying toassault the prime minister. They did not release his name.

ABCNEWS Radio, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.