The southern Japanese city of Nagasaki on Saturday marked 80 years since the US 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 on August 9 1945, killing 70,000 by the end of that year, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima that killed 140,000.
Japan surrendered on August 15 1945, ending the Second World War and the country’s nearly half-century of aggression 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 11:02am, the exact time when the plutonium bomb exploded above Nagasaki, participants observed a moment of silence as a bell rang.
Dozens of doves, a symbol of peace, were released after a speech by Mr Suzuki, whose parents are survivors of 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,” Mr 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 realisation of everlasting world peace.”
Survivors and their families gathered Saturday in rainy weather at Peace Park and nearby Hypocentre Park, located below the bomb’s exact detonation spot, hours before the official ceremony.
“I simply seek a world without war,” said Koichi Kawano, an 85-year-old survivor who laid flowers at the Hypocenter monument decorated with colourful 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 had gone missing following the attack was restored by volunteers.
Despite their pain from wounds, discrimination and illnesses from radiation, survivors have publicly committed to a shared goal of abolishing nuclear weapons.
But they worry about the world moving in the opposite direction.
Ageing 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 is not 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,” survivor Fumi Takeshita said.
“I only see a world where nuclear weapons are never used and everyone can live in peace.”
In hopes of passing on the lessons of history, Ms 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,” Ms Takeshita, 83, told students during a school visit earlier this week.
Teruko Yokoyama, an 83-year-old member of a Nagasaki organisation supporting survivors, said she feels the absence of those she has worked, which fuels her strong desire to document the lives of remaining survivors.
The number of survivors has fallen 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 recall the attack clearly.
“We must keep records of the atomic bombing damages of the survivors and their lifetime story,” said Ms Yokoyama, whose two sisters died after suffering illnesses linked to radiation.
Her organisation has started to digitalise 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,” Ms Yokoyama said.
“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 he is handing seeds of “flowers of peace” to the younger generation in hopes of seeing them bloom.
Survivors are frustrated by a growing nuclear threat and support among international leaders for developing or possessing nuclear weapons for deterrence.
They criticise the Japanese government’s refusal to sign or even participate in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons because Japan, as an American ally, needs US nuclear possession as deterrence.
In Mr Ishiba’s speech, the prime minister reiterated Japan’s pursuit of a nuclear-free world and pledged to promote dialogue and cooperation between countries with nuclear weapons and non-nuclear states at the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons review conference scheduled for April and May 2026 in New York City.
Mr Ishiba, however, did not mention the nuclear weapons ban treaty.
Nagasaki invited representatives from all countries to attend the ceremony Saturday.
China notably notified the city it would not be present without providing a reason.
The ceremony last year stirred controversy due to the absence of the US ambassador and other Western envoys in response to the Japanese city’s refusal to invite Israel.
