Nagasaki warns of impending nuclear war on 80th A-bomb anniversary

The Mainichi

2 days ago

NAGASAKI (Kyodo) -- Nagasaki on Saturday warned of the intensifying threat of nuclear war as it marked the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing, urging the world to learn from history and ensure the southwestern Japanese city remains the last to suffer such devastation.
"This existential crisis of humanity has become imminent to each and every one of us living on Earth," Mayor Shiro Suzuki said in the Peace Declaration read during the annual memorial ceremony, laying out a bleak outlook for the world that is plagued with a "vicious cycle of confrontation and fragmentation."
In addition to calling on global leaders to outline a specific course of action for achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons, Suzuki also noted how Nihon Hidankyo, Japan's leading group of atomic bomb survivors awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, highlighted the power of civil society working together.
"Is it not this 'global citizen' perspective that will serve as the driving force behind stitching back together our fragmented world?" he said.
A moment of silence was observed at 11:02 a.m., when the plutonium device codenamed "Fat Man" was dropped by a U.S. bomber and exploded over the port city in the closing days of World War II. It followed the bombing of Hiroshima, leaving Nagasaki as the last place to have suffered a nuclear attack.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, in his speech, vowed to uphold Japan's decades-long commitment of not possessing, producing or permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons.
The Japanese government will work steadily to lead global efforts to bring about "a world without nuclear war and a world without nuclear weapons," Ishiba said, though he did not touch on the U.N. nuclear ban treaty that entered into force in 2021, despite renewed calls from Hiroshima and Nagasaki that Japan should join.
The commemoration event at the Nagasaki Peace Park, located near the hypocenter, was attended by 94 countries and regions.
Last year's ceremony, which saw participation by a record 100 countries and regions, was mired in controversy after the city did not invite Israel due to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, prompting the ambassadors of the United States and other members of the Group of Seven nations to snub the ceremony.
The city decided to adopt a more inclusive approach this year, sending invitations to all nations with diplomatic missions in Japan.
The ceremony comes after Nihon Hidankyo, formerly known as the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons through witness testimony. It was founded in Nagasaki in 1956 to campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons and demand medical and other support for survivors.
Suzuki recalled the first speech at the United Nations in 1982 by a Japanese atomic bomb survivor -- the late Senji Yamaguchi, who called out "No more hibakusha" as he showed a photo of himself with severe scarring on his face and body from the burns he suffered as a 14-year-old due to the Nagasaki bombing.
"This cry from deep within his heart is the crystallization of the hibakusha's feelings," Suzuki said. Hibakusha is the Japanese word for atomic bomb survivors.
But the so-called nuclear taboo that the survivors have helped to forge has been overshadowed by the threatened use of nuclear weapons in Russia's war against Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East and the growing reliance on nuclear deterrence.
While advocating for a world without nuclear weapons, Japan is among the countries that rely on the nuclear umbrella extended by the United States, the once wartime foe that turned into the Asian nation's closest ally. Japan has also been beefing up its defense in the face of China's military buildup and North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
A statement by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres stressed that "peace and security cannot be achieved through an arms race" and urged countries to take action to strengthen the global disarmament regime, with the nuclear nonproliferation treaty at the center and complemented by the nuclear ban treaty.
"We must re-commit to the proven tools of disarmament -- dialogue, diplomacy, confidence building, transparency, and arms control and reduction," said the statement read out by Izumi Nakamitsu, U.N. undersecretary general and high representative for disarmament affairs.
The nuclear attack on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, came three days after an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, western Japan. It is believed to have killed around 74,000 people in the city by the end of the year and left many others suffering from its effects.
Japan surrendered on Aug. 15 of the same year, bringing an end to World War II.
The combined number of officially recognized survivors of the two nuclear attacks, known as hibakusha, stood at 99,130 as of March this year, falling below 100,000 for the first time. Their average age exceeded 86.
(By Donican Lam)