Nagasaki mayor warns of nuclear war as city marks 80 years since atomic bombing
The western Japanese city was levelled on August 9th, 1945, when the United States dropped a 10,000-pound plutonium-239 bomb, nicknamed 'Fat Man', instantly killing some 27,000 of the city's estimated 200,000 people. By the end of 1945, the death toll from acute radiation exposure had reached about 70,000.
Nagasaki's destruction came three days after a US uranium-235 bomb destroyed Hiroshima. Japan surrendered on August 15th, ending the second World War.
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Atomic bombings anniversary: Japanese politicians consider a once-unthinkable question
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After a moment of silence at 11.02am, marking the time of the blast, mayor Shiro Suzuki called on leaders to return to the principles of the UN Charter and show a concrete path toward abolishing nuclear weapons, warning that delay was 'no longer permissible'.
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'This is a crisis of human survival that is closing in on each and every one of us,' Mr Suzuki told the crowd, estimated by Japanese media at 2,700.
A replica of the atomic bomb code-named 'Fat Man', dropped over Nagasaki. Photograph: History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
He quoted the testimony of a survivor to illustrate the reality of a nuclear attack: 'Around me were people whose eyeballs had popped out... Bodies were strewn about like stones.'
'Is it not this 'global citizen' perspective that will serve as the driving force behind stitching back together our fragmented world?' Mr Suzuki asked, calling for a solution based on mutual understanding and solidarity.
The US military is believed to have chosen Nagasaki as a target due to its significance as a major industrial and port city. The city's geographical features, including its hilly terrain, were also thought to concentrate the blast.
Atomic bomb survivor, or "hibakusha", Hiroshi Nishioka (L), prepares to speak as a representative of survivors during the ceremony. Photograph: Str/Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images
Representatives from 95 countries and territories, including nuclear superpower the United States, and Israel - which neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weapons - attended the annual ceremony at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Park for the milestone year.
Russia, which possesses the world's largest nuclear stockpile, was also represented.
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The Irishman who filmed Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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Daiji Kawanaka, a 14-year-old tourist from Osaka, echoed the mayor's sentiments.
'I truly believe a tragedy like this must never be repeated,' he told Reuters, saying the anniversary prompts conversations about peace even among his young peers. 'We can only pledge to take the initiative ourselves in making a step toward peace.'
Participants take part in a moment of silence during the annual memorial ceremony. Photograph: Str/Jiji Press/AFP/Getty Images
Japan's leading organisation of A-bomb survivors, Nihon Hidankyo, won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for campaigning for a world without nuclear weapons.
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'Such a cruel sight': A visit to Hiroshima lives long in the memory
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Survivors, known as 'hibakusha', continue to suffer the effects from radiation and social discrimination. With their numbers falling below 100,000 for the first time this year, their stories fuel ongoing efforts to advocate for a nuclear-free world.
Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, has stated its commitment to nuclear disarmament but is not a signatory or observer of the UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons. - Reuters
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It says this reduces the risk of conflict between two parties which, the Bill argues, are technically still at war with each other. The opposition's moves to paralyse the government of President Lai Ching-te triggered confrontation with the DPP. But they also inflamed the wider public. In May 2024, when the KMT voted on the expansion of parliamentary powers, tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside. Addressing the crowd, Wu Rwei-ren, a prominent political scientist and historian, called the move a 'parliamentary coup' and accused the KMT of 'co-ordinating from within in support of a Chinese annexation of Taiwan'. DPP lawmakers said the opposition was usurping power following a script provided by Xi Jinping. Although the KMT dismissed such accusations, the rhetoric stuck and the campaign to petition for recalling KMT lawmakers quickly gained traction. Eric Chu, the chairman of Taiwan's main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT). Photograph: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA Angel investor and activist Chen was on board from the beginning. 'They are hollowing out our courts, they are undermining our democracy, they echo the way China talks,' she says. In Hsinchu, the centre of Taiwan's vital semiconductor industry, law professor Carol Lin led a campaign against Cheng Cheng-chien, the KMT legislator who defeated her in the January 2024 race for that seat. Lin filed a criminal complaint against Cheng, alleging that he illegally received campaign finance from the Chinese government. A special prosecutorial group for national security cases has opened an investigation. 'Cheng is probably the case with the clearest evidence of KMT lawmakers colluding with China,' says Lin. Cheng denies the accusations. President Lai went on a tour of the country, giving speeches ostensibly aimed at uniting the nation against the threat from China. But his rhetoric left no room for those with emotional bonds to China. Lai compared the search for national unity to the process of forging iron, during which the nation must 'remove impurities'. The KMT has denounced the DPP as 'green communists' in a reference to their party colour, compared the party with the Nazis, and called Lai a dictator. China was quick to take advantage of the infighting. State media and social media accounts affiliated with the Taiwan Affairs Office have been trumpeting the vote as a rejection of Lai's 'dictatorial' tendencies. A growing chorus of voices is warning that deepening internal division is just what the CCP needs. Former DPP lawmaker Lin Chuo-shui last week warned members of his own party against being overzealous in identifying alleged Chinese collaborators. Optimists believe that Taiwan will pull itself together. James Chen, a political scientist at Tamkang University who supports the KMT, sees the recall results as a demonstration of Taiwanese voters' judgment and maturity. 'The DPP and President Lai should develop better approaches to truly unify the country', he says, but warns that if the opposition fails to meet the public's demands 'they will not be able to return [to the presidency] in 2028″. But Chen, the activist, is no longer content to simply put her faith in politicians. 'What the recall taught us is that there is still a lot to be done to make our citizens more resilient against Chinese interference,' she says. One next step that she and her fellow activists are considering is running for elected office at the grassroots level. 'Our village heads and borough wardens have often become tools of Chinese influence operations,' she warns. 'It is time that we, the citizens, take this into our own hands.' – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025 Opinions on key issues are deeply split along party lines 70% of DPP supporters blame China for rising cross-strait tensions. But 61% of KMT supporters blame the DPP itself, according to Doublethink Lab 88% of DPP supporters are satisfied with the way democracy in Taiwan works. But only 31% of KMT supporters are, says Doublethink 81% of KMT supporters agree with the idea that the US cannot be trusted. Almost exactly the same percentage of DPP backers say they disagree.
