Lokmani Rijal,Japan:  On the occasion of the 80th Hiroshima Day commemorating the atomic bombing by the United States on Hiroshima, Japan, the “Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial and Peace Prayer Ceremony” was held yesterday, Tuesday.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, along with representatives from the European Union and government officials from 120 countries and regions around the world, participated in the peace prayer ceremony held yesterday. At 8:15 a.m., the time when the atomic bomb was dropped, the “Bell of Peace” was rung in remembrance, and everyone observed a moment of silence together.

In his peace declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, amid deepening global instability, called on the younger generation to become pioneers in building a peaceful and nuclear-weapon-free world. He also urged heads of governments to open new doors to security based on dialogue and trust.

Although the city, once reduced to ashes, has undergone remarkable reconstruction, the voices of Hiroshima’s residents and survivors of the bombing calling for a “nuclear-weapon-free world” are now being increasingly suppressed amid greater dangers and challenges.

In the Japan–U.S. joint military exercises, strategies that include the possibility of U.S. nuclear use have been discussed. Some politicians have even begun advocating for nuclear sharing and the nuclear armament of Japan.

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to Japan’s atomic bomb survivors’ organization, “Hibakusha,” was in recognition of that message and as a warning to the international community.

By the end of this March, the number of living atomic bomb survivors, or ‘Hibakusha,’ in Hiroshima had fallen below one million, with their average age exceeding 86 years. In the past year alone, 4,940 survivors in Hiroshima were confirmed dead. With the addition of two more books containing the names of the deceased to Hiroshima City’s records, the total number now stands at 130 books, listing 349,246 names in total.