On Wednesday morning, thousands gathered in solemn silence beneath grey skies at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to mark a grim milestone – the 80th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing.
The ceremony honoured the lives lost when the United States dropped a uranium bomb, codenamed Little Boy, on the western Japanese city at 8:15am on August 6, 1945. Roughly 78,000 people were killed instantly. By the end of the year, the death toll had risen to more than 140,000, as survivors succumbed to burns, radiation sickness and injuries.
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Three days later, the city of Nagasaki was hit by a second bomb. More than 110,000 were killed instantly in both attacks, while hundreds of thousands more suffered lingering illness, trauma, and discrimination for decades after.
Eighty years on, Hiroshima continues to stand as a symbol of the horrors of nuclear warfare – and a warning. Yet, survivors, officials and disarmament advocates say the world today is closer to nuclear war than it has been in decades.
“We don’t have much time left, while we face greater nuclear threat than ever,” warned Nihon Hidankyo, the hibakusha-led organisation that won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for its campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons.
Rising threats amid fading memories
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The annual memorial ceremony – attended by representatives from a record 120 countries and regions – followed tradition. Children laid flowers and offered water to the dead, representing the desperate thirst of those who survived the initial blast. At exactly 8:15am, the moment the bomb struck, the park fell silent.
Kazumi Matsui, the city’s mayor, then read a declaration of peace, calling on global leaders to abolish nuclear weapons once and for all.
“Among the world’s political leaders, there is a growing belief that possessing nuclear weapons is unavoidable in order to protect their own countries,” he said. “This situation not only nullifies the lessons the international community has learned from the tragic history of the past, but also seriously undermines the frameworks that have been built for peace-building.”
He urged world leaders to visit Hiroshima and witness the devastation firsthand.
His warning comes as military tensions escalate worldwide, with Russia’s war in Ukraine, rising hostility between nuclear powers, and renewed investment in weapons programmes. The United States and Russia still hold 90 percent of the world’s nuclear arsenal.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also struck a sombre tone. “The divisions within the international community over nuclear disarmament are deepening, and the current security environment is growing increasingly severe,” he said.
‘History is repeating itself’
For many in attendance, the fear of another nuclear conflict feels increasingly real.
“It feels more and more like history is repeating itself,” said 71-year-old Yoshikazu Horie, speaking to Reuters.
“Terrible things are happening in Europe… Even in Japan, in Asia, it’s going the same way – it’s very scary. I’ve got grandchildren and I want peace so they can live their lives happily.”
The survivors – known in Japan as hibakusha – have long carried the physical and emotional scars of the bombings. Many also endured discrimination, fuelled by misplaced fears that radiation exposure could be contagious or genetically passed on.
This year, for the first time, the number of official hibakusha in Japan has fallen below 100,000. Most are now well into their 80s and 90s – a dwindling generation whose lived memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will soon pass into history.
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Disarmament pledges, yet Japan stays outside UN treaty
Japan continues to uphold its commitment to a world without nuclear weapons. Yet critics point out the country has not signed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which bans the development, testing and possession of nuclear arms.
As a close ally of the United States – a nuclear power – Japan sits in a complicated position. It relies on America’s “nuclear umbrella” for defence, while simultaneously calling for global disarmament.
Still, many Japanese believe Hiroshima’s legacy should drive the country to take a stronger, more principled stance.
At the close of Wednesday’s memorial, one message rang clear from survivors, leaders, and citizens alike: the memory of Hiroshima must not fade. Nor must the world forget the human cost of nuclear war – a lesson still painfully relevant in today’s volatile world.
