Hiroshima, Japan – Marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui delivered a poignant message urging the world not to forget the devastating human cost of nuclear weapons, especially as the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East deepen.
Speaking at a solemn memorial held on August 6 at Hiroshima Peace Park, Matsui condemned the global community’s reliance on nuclear deterrence and warned that the lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are being dangerously ignored.
“These tragedies are not relics of the past – they are warnings for the future,” Matsui declared. “Yet the world continues to justify nuclear arms, even as tensions escalate.”
Calling nuclear weapons “inhumane and indiscriminate,” he appealed to younger generations to be the torchbearers of peace and disarmament. He also urged more nations to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
The ceremony was attended by atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha), dignitaries, and international diplomats. A moment of silence at 8:15 a.m. marked the exact time the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb in 1945 — an attack that ultimately claimed over 140,000 lives.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a Hiroshima native, was present and reiterated Japan’s unique responsibility and enduring commitment to a nuclear-free world.
The commemoration comes at a time of heightened global instability, with fears of nuclear escalation growing amid the Ukraine war, the Gaza conflict, and rising tensions among nuclear-armed powers.
