Nagasaki marks 80 years since atomic bombing as hibakusha numbers dwindle
At 11:02 a.m., the city observed a moment of silence marking the exact time the bomb exploded on Aug. 9, 1945, leaving an estimated 74,000 people dead in the ensuing chaos. It was the second and final nuclear weapon to be used in conflict, after the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 that year, killing some 140,000.
Japan surrendered days later, on August 15, 1945, ushering in the end of the Second World War.
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Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
KIng Charles, Starmer lead VJ Day tributes to WWII veterans, survivors
Britain's head of state King Charles III led commemorations for the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day and the end of World War II By Joe JACKSON King Charles III led commemorations Friday for World War II veterans and those who lived through the devastating conflict, lauding their "courage" as Britain marked the 80th anniversary of VJ Day. Charles and Queen Camilla were joined by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, other dignitaries and dozens of veterans at a remembrance service for Victory over Japan day at the National Memorial Arboretum in central England. The trio laid wreaths and floral tributes at the memorial, before attendees and others across the country observed two minutes' silence at noon to mark the eight decades since Japan surrendered. The 33 veterans at the service, which also featured flypasts by the Red Arrows acrobatic display team and WWII-era aircraft, all served in East Asia and the Pacific, and are now aged from 96 to 105. In an audio message released ahead of the poignant event, Charles vowed the "service and sacrifice" of those who "saw the forces of liberty prevail" will "never be forgotten". "The courage and camaraderie displayed in humanity's darkest hour is a flame that shall blaze for eternity -- a beacon that honours our past and guides our future," he said in the six-minute address. "Let us therefore pledge to be vigilant guardians of the values they bequeathed to us." Charles met some of the veterans at the Arboretum before joining them and their families at a reception hosted by the Royal British Legion armed forces charity. Some WWII survivors also played a role in Friday's televised ceremony, with army veteran Owen Filer reading the dedication written on the Kohima Epitaph laid in memory of the 1944 Battle of Kohima in southeast Asia. "When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today," the 103-year-old said. Other remembrance events took place around the UK, including at the Tower of London, at Belfast City Hall and in Edinburgh -- where a lone piper played on the battlements of the city's castle. In his message to the nation, the king linked WWII with "conflicts around the world today", arguing it remained a reminder that "war's true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life". WWII veterans "proved that, in times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear, but the arms you link". Ahead of Friday's commemorations, Starmer held Thursday a special reception for veterans at Downing Street. At the event, he recalled hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy there Thursday morning, adding Ukraine's leader is "fighting for the same values as we were fighting for". "Our country owes a great debt to those who fought for a better future, so we could have the freedoms and the life we enjoy today," Starmer told those gathered. "We must honor that sacrifice with every new generation." In his audio message, Charles also urged recognition of the devastation caused by the atomic bombings of Japan, which led the country's Emperor Hirohito to announce its unconditional surrender to the Allies. That came nine days after the first bomb was dropped. "We should also pause to acknowledge that in the war's final act, an immense price was paid by the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- a price we pray no nation need ever pay again," the UK king said. August 15, 1945, signalled the end of the six-year-long war, though VJ Day is celebrated on September 2 in the United States, marking the date the official surrender documents were signed. In mainland China, it is celebrated on September 3. © 2025 AFP
Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
When did WWII end? 1 in 4 Japanese can't say, survey shows
After more than 80 years, World War II feels distant — so much so that around 1 in 4 Japanese don't know the day Japan capitulated, a recent survey has found. The survey by the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) found that 25.8% of respondents did not know the war ended on Aug. 15, 1945, while 21.7% and 27%, respectively, did not know the date the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima (Aug. 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9, 1945). The online study, conducted in June, had 1,200 participants ranging from ages 10 and over. Marking the 80th anniversary since the end of WWII, this was the first time the JRCS conducted a study on the public's awareness and behavior regarding peace. With the wartime generation aging, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to pass on their stories to the younger generation. Nearly 90% of respondents answered that they thought continuing to tell stories about the war to future generations was important, but only half said that they have heard firsthand accounts of the war. Among those who have heard such stories, around 47% said they heard it from their grandparents, while 38% said they heard it from oral storytellers who work to preserve memories of the conflict. 'In Japan, which fortunately has not become a battlefield for the past 80 years, it may be to some extent inevitable that memories of war are fading,' said Hiroto Oyama of JRCS. 'However, even in the current situation, where many feel an impending crisis about achieving peace, I would like to highlight the fact that the vast majority of people still value learning from past experiences.' When asked about current affairs, over half of the respondents said they thought Japan was peaceful, while only around 20% thought there was peace in the world. Many were pessimistic about achieving world peace in the future, with only 18.4% believing a war-free world was possible. Meanwhile, 68.6% said they did not think world peace was attainable. Asked about Japan's possible involvement in war in the future, 12.9% strongly believed it was possible while 40.3% thought such a scenario was moderately possible. On nuclear weapons, 51.8% of respondents said such weapons should not be used or possessed, while 28.3% felt they should not be used but that having them may be necessary for self defense.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
'Why do humans wage war?': Woman recalls escaping death on Tinian island in WWII
In 1944, at the height of the fighting on Tinian Island during World War II, schoolgirl Mitsuko Arakaki and her family resolved to die rather than be killed. At the last moment, fear drove her to flee — an impulse that ultimately saved her family. Having watched B-29 bombers take to the sky from Tinian, the same island from which the aircraft used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki departed, Arakaki, now 91, continues to emphasize the precious nature of peace. Arakaki, a resident of the village of Nakagusuku, Okinawa Prefecture, was born on Tinian in 1934. The island prospered on sugarcane, and her grandfather operated a large farm. Living with her grandparents, parents and a younger brother, she recalls, she "lived a life without any inconveniences." Tinian, part of the Mariana Islands about 2,500 kilometers south of Japan's main island, was then a Japanese mandate territory and a key base for the Imperial Japanese military. By the time the war reached the island, some 13,000 Japanese civilians were living there, many of them from Okinawa. When U.S. air raids began in 1944, life on the island changed overnight. In June that year, Arakaki, then a fourth grader at the Marpo elementary school in the island's south, took shelter with her family in an air-raid bunker near their home. After American forces landed in the north on July 24, the family fled again, this time to a mountain cave. About 100 people crowded into the space. There, she saw a Japanese man, suspected of spying for the Americans, shot dead by a Japanese soldier. "The scene still remains in my mind. It was scarier than the attacks by U.S. forces," she says, her voice trembling. As the naval bombardment intensified, a shell fragment landed less than a meter in front of her while she was playing outside. Startled by its searing heat, she ran back into the cave. As the attacks became even fiercer, Arakaki and her family left the cave. Along the road, they saw flies swarming over corpses. "Rather than being killed and swarmed by flies, let's throw ourselves into the sea," she recalls her grandmother saying. At her urging, the family headed for a cliff. But when Arakaki looked down and saw many bodies floating in the sea below, fear overtook her. "I don't want to die," she cried, fleeing into the mountains. The entire family survived. Later, her grandmother thanked her, saying, "We were saved thanks to you. Thank you," Arakaki recalls. Combat between Japanese and U.S. forces on the island ended on Aug. 3, 1944. More than 5,000 Japanese troops and an estimated 3,500 civilians were killed, among them people who leapt from the cliffs. Because of the scale of the losses, the territory is sometimes known as a "gyokusai no shima," or 'island of honorable death." Around October that year, Arakaki and her family were captured by U.S. forces and interned at Camp Churo in the island's central region. At the camp, one story left a deep impression on her. A fisherman, an adept swimmer, survived alone after his family of six — his wife and four sons — threw themselves into the sea. "It wasn't the enemy who killed my family. I killed my family myself," she remembers him saying through tears. The confession has stayed with her ever since. In August 1945, U.S. B-29 bombers took off from an airfield in the island's north to carry out the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "From the internment camp, I watched the B-29s flying, but at the time I assumed they were headed to war," she says. Only later did she learn that the planes she saw may have been carrying atomic bombs. Arakaki said the realization still fills her with sorrow. "If it hadn't been for the B-29s, Hiroshima and Nagasaki might have been spared," she says. More than 80 years after the battle on Tinian Island, Arakaki asks, "Why do humans wage war? I've wrestled with that question ever since, and I still don't have an answer." Wars continue today, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "They may come from different countries, but they are human beings all the same. I sincerely hope the fighting ends soon," Arakaki says.
