Japan marked 80 years since the tragic Hiroshima atomic bombing – dropped by the US – with a silent morning prayer.
On Wednesday, August 6, Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba attended the ceremony along with officials from around the world.
"Japan is the only nation that has suffered an atomic bombing in war," Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui said at the city's Peace Memorial Park.
Expressing his hope for peace, he added, "The Japanese government represents a people who aspire for genuine and lasting peace."
World War II ended with Japan's surrender after the dropping of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which took place days apart and killed more than 200,000 people, from both immediate blast and radiations and burns.
In a speech on Wednesday, the mayor warned of an "accelerating trend toward military build-up around the world" and "the idea that nuclear weapons are essential for national defence".
"These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history," he said.
Issuing stern warning he noted, "They threaten to topple the peacebuilding frameworks so many have worked so hard to construct."
He also urged the Japanese government to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; an international agreement banning nuclear weapons that came into force in 2021.
More than 70 countries have approved the treaty; however, nuclear powers such as the US and Russia have opposed it, pointing out that the weapons discourage attacks from the outside.
Japan has also rejected such a ban, arguing that its security is enhanced by US nuclear weapons.
