NAGASAKI, Japan — The southern Japanese city of Nagasaki on Saturday marked 80 years since the U.S. atomic attack that killed tens of thousands and left survivors who hope their harrowing memories can help make their hometown the last place on Earth to be hit by a nuclear bomb.
The United States launched the Nagasaki attack Aug. 9, 1945, killing 70,000 by the end of that year, three days after the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima that killed 140,000. Japan surrendered Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II and nearly half a century of aggression by the country across Asia.
About 2,600 people, including representatives from more than 90 countries, attended a memorial event at Nagasaki Peace Park, where Mayor Shiro Suzuki and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke, among other guests. At 11:02 a.m., the exact time when the plutonium bomb exploded above Nagasaki, participants observed a moment of silence as a bell rang.
People are also reading…
"Even after the war ended, the atomic bomb brought invisible terror," survivor Hiroshi Nishioka, 93, said in his speech at the memorial, noting many who survived without severe wounds started bleeding from their gums and losing hair and died.
"Never use nuclear weapons again, or we're finished," he said.
Doves are released Saturday over the Peace Statue at the Peace Park in Nagasaki, Japan, during a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing.
Doves released
Dozens of doves, a symbol of peace, were released after a speech by Suzuki, whose parents survived the attack. He said the city's memories of the bombing are "a common heritage and should be passed down for generations" in and outside Japan.
"The existential crisis of humanity has become imminent to each and every one of us living on Earth," Suzuki said. "In order to make Nagasaki the last atomic bombing site now and forever, we will go hand-in-hand with global citizens and devote our utmost efforts toward the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of everlasting world peace."
People offer prayers Saturday at the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park in Nagasaki, Japan, during a ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the day an atomic bomb was dropped on the city.
'A world without war'
Survivors and their families gathered Saturday in rainy weather at Peace Park and nearby Hypocenter Park, located below the bomb's exact detonation spot, hours before the official ceremony.
"I simply seek a world without war," said Koichi Kawano, 85, a survivor who laid flowers at the hypocenter monument decorated with colorful origami paper cranes and other offerings.
Some others prayed at churches in Nagasaki, home to Catholic converts who went deep underground during centuries of violent persecution in Japan's feudal era.
The twin bells at Urakami Cathedral, which was destroyed in the bombing, also rang together again after one of the bells that went missing after the attack was restored by volunteers.
Despite their pain from wounds, discrimination and illnesses from radiation, survivors publicly committed to a shared goal of abolishing nuclear weapons. Still, they worry about the world moving in the opposite direction.
A woman offers prayer in the rain Saturday at the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park in Nagasaki, Japan.
Passing down lessons
Aging survivors and their supporters in Nagasaki now put their hopes of achieving nuclear weapons abolition in the hands of younger people, telling them the attack isn't distant history, but an issue that remains relevant to their future.
"There are only two things I long for: the abolition of nuclear weapons and prohibition of war," said Fumi Takeshita, an 83-year-old survivor. "I seek a world where nuclear weapons are never used and everyone can live in peace."
In the hope of passing down the lessons of history to current and future generations, Takeshita visits schools to share her experience with children.
"When you grow up and remember what you learned today, please think what each of you can do to prevent war," Takeshita told students during such a visit this past week.
Teruko Yokoyama, 83, a member of a Nagasaki organization supporting survivors, said she thinks of the growing absence of those she worked with, and that fuels her desire to document the lives of others who are still alive.
A person prays Saturday at Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park in Nagasaki, Japan, ahead of a memorial ceremony.
The number of survivors fell to 99,130, about a quarter of the original number, with their average age exceeding 86. Survivors worry about fading memories, as the youngest of the survivors were too young to clearly recall the attack.
"We must keep records of the atomic bombing damages of the survivors and their lifetime story," said Yokoyama, whose two sisters died after suffering illnesses linked to radiation.
Her organization started to digitize the narratives of survivors for viewing on YouTube and other social media platforms with the help of a new generation.
"There are younger people who are beginning to take action," Yokoyama told The Associated Press on Friday. "So I think we don't have to get depressed yet."
Nagasaki hosted a "peace forum" on Friday where survivors shared their stories with more than 300 young people from around the country. Seiichiro Mise, a 90-year-old survivor, said that he's handing seeds of "flowers of peace" to the younger generation in hopes of seeing them bloom.
People observe a minute of silence Saturday at the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park in Nagasaki, Japan.
Japan's security dilemma
Survivors are frustrated by a growing nuclear threat and support among international leaders for developing or possessing nuclear weapons for deterrence. They criticize the Japanese government's refusal to sign or even participate in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as an observer because Japan, as an American ally, says it needs U.S. nuclear possession as deterrence.
In Ishiba's speech, the prime minister reiterated Japan's pursuit of a nuclear-free world, pledging to promote dialogue and cooperation between countries with nuclear weapons and nonnuclear states at the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons review conference scheduled for April and May 2026 in New York. Ishiba didn't mention the nuclear weapons ban treaty.
"Countries must move from words to action by strengthening the global disarmament regime," with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, at the center, complemented by the momentum created by the nuclear weapons ban treaty, said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, in his message Undersecretary-General Izumi Nakamitsu read in Nagasaki.
Nagasaki invited representatives from all countries to attend the ceremony Saturday.
5 things to know about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
Q. Why was Hiroshima chosen as a target?
A. Hiroshima was a major Japanese military hub with factories, military bases and ammunition facilities. Historians say the United States picked it as a suitable target because of its size and landscape, and carefully avoided fire bombing the city ahead of time so American officials could accurately assess the impact of the atomic attack. The United States said the bombings hastened Japan's surrender and prevented the need for a U.S. invasion of Japan. Some historians today say Japan was already close to surrendering, but there is still debate in the U.S.
Q. What happened in the attack?
FILE - In this Aug. 6, 1945, file photo, the "Enola Gay" Boeing B-29 Superfortress lands at Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, after the U.S. a…
A. At 8:15 a.m., the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped a 4-ton "Little Boy" uranium bomb from a height of 9,600 meters (31,500 feet) on the city center, targeting the Aioi Bridge. The bomb exploded 43 seconds later, 600 meters (2,000 feet) above the ground. Seconds after the detonation, the estimated temperature was 3,000-4,000 degrees Celsius (5,400-7,200 degrees Fahrenheit) at ground zero. Almost everything within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of ground zero was destroyed by the blast and heat rays. Within one hour, a "black rain" of highly radioactive particles started falling on the city, causing additional radiation exposure.
Q. How many people were killed?
FILE - In this Sept. 8, 1945, file photo, an allied correspondent stands in a sea of rubble before the shell of a building that once was a movie theater in Hiroshima, western Japan, a month after the first atomic bomb ever used in warfare was dropped by the U.S. to hasten Japan's surrender. Many people exposed to radiation developed symptoms such as vomiting and hair loss. Most of those with severe radiation symptoms died within three to six weeks. Others who lived beyond that developed health problems related to burns and radiation-induced cancers and other illnesses. (AP Photo/Stanley Troutman, Pool, File)
A. An estimated 140,000 people, including those with radiation-related injuries and illnesses, died through Dec. 31, 1945. That was 40% of Hiroshima's population of 350,000 before the attack. Everyone within a radius of 500 meters (1,600 feet) from ground zero died that day. To date, the total death toll, including those who died from radiation-related cancers, is about 300,000. Hiroshima today has 1.2 million residents.
Q. What effect did radiation have?
A. Many people exposed to radiation developed symptoms such as vomiting and hair loss. Most of those with severe radiation symptoms died within three to six weeks. Others who lived beyond that developed health problems related to burns and radiation-induced cancers and other illnesses. Survivors have a higher risk of developing cataracts and cancer. About 136,700 people certified as "hibakusha," as victims are called, under a government support program are still alive and entitled to regular free health checkups and treatment. Health monitoring of second-generation hibakusha began recently. Japan's government provided no support for victims until a law was finally enacted in 1957 under pressure from them.
Q. What are those colorful folded paper cranes for?
Hatsue Onda, center, is helped by Kengo Onda to offer strings of colorful paper cranes to the victims of the 1945 Atomic bombing near Hiroshim…
A. "Origami" paper cranes can be seen throughout the city. They became a symbol of peace because of a 12-year-old bomb survivor, Sadako Sasaki, who, while battling leukemia, folded paper cranes using medicine wrappers after hearing an old Japanese story that those who fold a thousand cranes are granted one wish. Sadako developed leukemia 10 years after her exposure to radiation at age 2, and died three months after she started the project. Former U.S. President Barack Obama brought four paper cranes that he folded himself when he visited Hiroshima in May 2016, becoming the first serving American leader to visit. Obama's cranes are now displayed at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
