Hiroshima commemorates 70th anniversary of atomic bombing

News | 06.08.2015 | 10:32

Xinhua - Hiroshima, the city that suffered U.S. atomic bombing in 1945 during the World War Two, commemorated the 70th anniversary of the bombing on Thursday at the city's Peace Memorial Park, with its mayor calling for peace and elimination of nuclear weapons.   About 55,000 people attended the ceremony, including survivors of the attack, their descendants, peace activists and representatives from about 100 countries and regions.   Kazumi Matsui, mayor of the city, made a peace declaration to the audience. He referred to the loss of lives and culture and the sufferings caused by the atomic bombing and called on policy makers of the world to abolish nuclear weapons and to "create versatile security systems that do not depend on military might".   Although he made no direct reference to the controversial security-related bills being discussed in the upper house of the Diet, he urged the world leaders to promote "the path to true peace revealed by the pacifism of the Japanese constitution."   Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the ceremony and delivered a speech calling for a nuclear-weapon-free world.   "Japan is the only country in the world that has suffered atomic bombing in war. It is our mission to convey to the world and to the coming generations the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons," he said.   As Abe spoke, shouts of protest rang out from the audience and around the park. "We strongly oppose the security-related bills." "Retract the war bills." shouted the protesters, holding banners.   Japan's pacifist constitution bans the country from using force outside Japan, but the security-related bills being pushed by the Abe administration in the Diet would allow Japan to fight wars.   The bills are considered as a violation of the constitution by over 90 percent of the country's experts on legislation.   After the ceremony, a group formed by victims of the atomic bombing expressed to Abe their hope that the government could retract the security bills but got negative answer from the prime minister.   To accelerate Japan's surrender in the WWII, the U.S. forces dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, 1945. Japan surrendered to the Allied Forces on Aug. 15, 1945, bringing an end to the war.

Tags: Japan