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98-year-old woman recalls brother's death from dummy atomic bomb
98-year-old woman recalls brother's death from dummy atomic bomb

Japan Times

time11-08-2025

  • General
  • Japan Times

98-year-old woman recalls brother's death from dummy atomic bomb

'I still feel my brother is calling for me,' said Michi Saito. Michi, 98, of Fukushima, then gently touched a large piece of a dummy atomic bomb that took the life of her younger brother Takao in the blink of an eye 80 years ago. In the morning of July 20, 1945, near the end of World War II, the weather was gloomy in the village of Watari, now part of the city of Fukushima, with clouds covering the sky.

Gaza journalist reacts to Israel's military expansion plan
Gaza journalist reacts to Israel's military expansion plan

France 24

time09-08-2025

  • General
  • France 24

Gaza journalist reacts to Israel's military expansion plan

03:10 09/08/2025 Japan: Nagasaki marks 80th anniversary of US atomic bomb attack 09/08/2025 Los Angeles: Firefighters make progress against blaze that forced thousands to flee 09/08/2025 US, Russian leaders set for talks on Ukraine peace deal 09/08/2025 Putin-Trump summit: Zelensky warns against 'decisions without Ukraine' 09/08/2025 War in Ukraine: Trump flags 'swapping of territories' ahead of Alaska talks 09/08/2025 Ghana builds Africa first genetic database to tackle cancer research gap 09/08/2025 Nagasaki survivors say 'never again' 09/08/2025 US astronaut Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13, dead at 97 09/08/2025 Aude: French firefighters optimistic after controlling vast wildfire

Nagasaki's twin bells ring in unison for first time in 80 years to mark atomic bombing
Nagasaki's twin bells ring in unison for first time in 80 years to mark atomic bombing

The Guardian

time09-08-2025

  • General
  • The Guardian

Nagasaki's twin bells ring in unison for first time in 80 years to mark atomic bombing

Twin cathedral bells rang in unison in Nagasaki for the first time in 80 years on Saturday, commemorating the moment the city was destroyed by an American atomic bomb. The two bells rang out at Immaculate Conception cathedral, also called the Urakami cathedral, at 11.02am, the moment the bomb was dropped on 9 August 1945, three days after a nuclear attack on Hiroshima. The imposing redbrick building, with its twin bell towers atop a hill, was rebuilt in 1959 after it was almost completely destroyed in the monstrous explosion just a few hundred metres away. Only one of its two bells was recovered from the rubble, leaving the northern tower silent. With funds from US churchgoers, a new bell was constructed and restored to the tower. After heavy downpours on Saturday morning, the rain stopped shortly before a moment of silence and ceremony in which Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki urged the world to 'stop armed conflicts immediately'. 'Eighty years have passed, and who could have imagined that the world would become like this?' he said. 'A crisis that could threaten the survival of humanity, such as a nuclear war, is looming over each and every one of us living on this planet.' About 74,000 people were killed in the south-western port city, on top of the 140,000 killed in Hiroshima. Days later, on 15 August 1945, Japan surrendered, marking the end of the second world war. Historians have debated whether the bombings ultimately saved lives by bringing an end to the conflict and averting a ground invasion. But those calculations meant little to survivors, known as hibakusha, many of whom battled decades of physical and psychological trauma, as well as stigma. Hiroshi Nishioka, a 93-year-old survivor who was just three kilometres from where the bomb exploded, told ceremony attenders of the horror he witnessed as a young teenager. 'Even the lucky ones [who were not severely injured] gradually began to bleed from their gums and lose their hair, and one after another they died,' he recalled. 'Even though the war was over, the atomic bomb brought invisible terror.' Nagasaki resident Atsuko Higuchi said it 'made her happy' that everyone would remember the city's victims. 'Instead of thinking that these events belong to the past, we must remember that these are real events that took place,' the 50-year-old said. The chief priest of Urakami Cathedral, Kenichi Yamamura, said the bell's restoration 'shows the greatness of humanity'. 'It's not about forgetting the wounds of the past but recognising them and taking action to repair and rebuild, and in doing so, working together for peace,' Yamamura said. He also sees the chimes as a message to the world, shaken by multiple conflicts and caught in a frantic new arms race. 'We should not respond to violence with violence, but rather demonstrate through our way of living, praying, how senseless it is to take another's life,' he said. Nearly 100 countries were set to participate in this year's commemorations, including Russia, which has not been invited since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Israel, whose ambassador was not invited last year over the war in Gaza, was in attendance. An American university professor, whose grandfather participated in the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapons, spearheaded the bell project. During his research in Nagasaki, a Japanese Christian told him he would like to hear the two bells of the cathedral ring together in his lifetime. Inspired by the idea, James Nolan, a sociology professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, embarked on a year-long series of lectures about the atomic bomb across the United States, primarily in churches. He managed to raise $125,000 from American Catholics to fund the new bell. When it was unveiled in Nagasaki in the spring, 'the reactions were magnificent. There were people literally in tears', said Nolan.

Nagasaki's twin bells ring in unison for first time in 80 years to mark atomic bombing
Nagasaki's twin bells ring in unison for first time in 80 years to mark atomic bombing

The Guardian

time09-08-2025

  • General
  • The Guardian

Nagasaki's twin bells ring in unison for first time in 80 years to mark atomic bombing

Twin cathedral bells rang in unison in Nagasaki for the first time in 80 years on Saturday, commemorating the moment the city was destroyed by an American atomic bomb. The two bells rang out at Immaculate Conception cathedral, also called the Urakami cathedral, at 11.02am, the moment the bomb was dropped on 9 August 1945, three days after a nuclear attack on Hiroshima. The imposing redbrick building, with its twin bell towers atop a hill, was rebuilt in 1959 after it was almost completely destroyed in the monstrous explosion just a few hundred metres away. Only one of its two bells was recovered from the rubble, leaving the northern tower silent. With funds from US churchgoers, a new bell was constructed and restored to the tower. After heavy downpours on Saturday morning, the rain stopped shortly before a moment of silence and ceremony in which Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki urged the world to 'stop armed conflicts immediately'. 'Eighty years have passed, and who could have imagined that the world would become like this?' he said. 'A crisis that could threaten the survival of humanity, such as a nuclear war, is looming over each and every one of us living on this planet.' About 74,000 people were killed in the south-western port city, on top of the 140,000 killed in Hiroshima. Days later, on 15 August 1945, Japan surrendered, marking the end of the second world war. Historians have debated whether the bombings ultimately saved lives by bringing an end to the conflict and averting a ground invasion. But those calculations meant little to survivors, known as hibakusha, many of whom battled decades of physical and psychological trauma, as well as stigma. Hiroshi Nishioka, a 93-year-old survivor who was just three kilometres from where the bomb exploded, told ceremony attenders of the horror he witnessed as a young teenager. 'Even the lucky ones [who were not severely injured] gradually began to bleed from their gums and lose their hair, and one after another they died,' he recalled. 'Even though the war was over, the atomic bomb brought invisible terror.' Nagasaki resident Atsuko Higuchi said it 'made her happy' that everyone would remember the city's victims. 'Instead of thinking that these events belong to the past, we must remember that these are real events that took place,' the 50-year-old said. The chief priest of Urakami Cathedral, Kenichi Yamamura, said the bell's restoration 'shows the greatness of humanity'. 'It's not about forgetting the wounds of the past but recognising them and taking action to repair and rebuild, and in doing so, working together for peace,' Yamamura said. He also sees the chimes as a message to the world, shaken by multiple conflicts and caught in a frantic new arms race. 'We should not respond to violence with violence, but rather demonstrate through our way of living, praying, how senseless it is to take another's life,' he said. Nearly 100 countries were set to participate in this year's commemorations, including Russia, which has not been invited since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Israel, whose ambassador was not invited last year over the war in Gaza, was in attendance. An American university professor, whose grandfather participated in the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapons, spearheaded the bell project. During his research in Nagasaki, a Japanese Christian told him he would like to hear the two bells of the cathedral ring together in his lifetime. Inspired by the idea, James Nolan, a sociology professor at Williams College in Massachusetts, embarked on a year-long series of lectures about the atomic bomb across the United States, primarily in churches. He managed to raise $125,000 from American Catholics to fund the new bell. When it was unveiled in Nagasaki in the spring, 'the reactions were magnificent. There were people literally in tears', said Nolan.

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