On the day Japan commemorates the 78th anniversary of the United States dropping an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned Russia’s hints at the possibility of using nuclear weapons on Sunday.
About 140,000 people perished in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and another 74,000 three days later in Nagasaki, when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities at the end of World War II.
Never to be Repeated Destruction
During ceremonies in Hiroshima, Kishida remarked that “the devastation caused by nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki can never be repeated.”
The Prime Minister, whose family hails from Hiroshima, emphasized that “Japan, the only country to have been subjected to atomic bombings during the war, will continue its efforts towards a world free of nuclear weapons.”
He continued, “The path to this goal is becoming more challenging due to the increasing divisions within the international community concerning nuclear disarmament and the Russian nuclear threat.”
He stressed that “in light of this situation, it is of utmost importance to generate international momentum towards a world free of nuclear weapons.”
A Unified Voice for the International Community
Kishida’s statements followed similar remarks by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who issued a statement on the bombing’s anniversary, condemning “certain nations’ reckless brandishing of the nuclear threat, threatening to deploy this instrument of annihilation.”
Guterres asserted that “faced with these threats, the international community must speak with one voice. Any use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable.”
During the commemorative ceremonies of the bombing, thousands in attendance, including survivors, families of victims, and foreign dignitaries from 111 countries—a record in terms of national representation—prayed for the casualties and wounded from the bombings and called for world peace.
For the second year in a row, Japan did not invite Russia or Belarus to attend the ceremony due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
