Hiroshima A-bomb ceremony 'enlightening' for foreign visitors
Foreign visitors attending the 80th anniversary ceremony of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima said Wednesday's event serves as a powerful reminder of the devastating consequences of nuclear war.
Craig Whitehead, an Australian on his third visit to Hiroshima, attended the ceremony for the first time. He said the experience was "enlightening."
While the 51-year-old remembers learning about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in school, the focus was on the Australian and American side.
"It is nice to get a wider perspective of the history around what happened, but also a reminder about how close we are to it happening again," said Whitehead. "Even that word 'hibakusha,' I just learned that today."
The ceremony was attended by around 55,000 people, including officials from a record 120 nations and regions, according to the city.
Some visitors came by chance but found the experience equally meaningful. Luca Milan, a 24-year-old student from Italy, said he only realized the ceremony was taking place when he tried to book a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum for Wednesday morning and found it was closed.
Milan said he learned of the bombings from his grandfather, who fought in World War II, during which Italy was for a time allied with Japan and Germany as part of the Axis powers. While he watched the ceremony on a large screen from outside the official seating area, he praised its succinctness and said it was "beautiful."
Meanwhile, Raj Mody, a Canadian who attended the ceremony as part of a group organized by the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York Ltd., said he felt the museum was more "illuminating" than the ceremony itself.
Still, the 63-year-old Canadian acknowledged the value of the event, saying schools all over the world should view a live telecast of the ceremony every year because "the young are the future."
While all noted that the current geopolitical environment makes the abolition of nuclear arms an unrealistic goal, they voiced hopes that the annual memorial ceremony would make leaders think seriously about using weapons of mass destruction.
Even when all survivors are gone, "indefinitely, we should continue (this ceremony) until people realize how nasty nuclear weapons can be," Mody said.
"Keep going," Whitehead agreed. "Keep going for as long as they have to, because it keeps that memory in their mind about what the devastation is like, not just on that particular day, but in the long term."
© KYODO
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