The 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was commemorated with a somber ceremony honoring the over 100,000 killed in the blast and calling for the elimination of all nuclear weapons on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
At 8:15 a.m. a peace bell was struck to mark the moment that the "Little Boy" atomic bomb was dropped from the B-29 Superfortress named the Enola Gay. Three days later a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, killing thousands more. Shortly after the second bombing Japan would surrender and end the Second World War, according to USA Today.
"On this very morning 68 years ago, a single bomb deprived many more than 100,000 people of their precious lives," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. "Those who survived were forced to endure unspeakable hardships of illness and disability and tribulations in their daily lives. I swear I will do everything in my power to make peace a lasting reality and abolish nuclear weapons."
The mayor of Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui, questioned Abe's true dedication to abolishing nuclear weapons in the tradition peace declaration speech. Japan is in negotiations to sell nuclear power technology to India, a country that has not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
"The government's ongoing negotiations may being economic benefits to Japan and India, but they will hamper efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons," Matsui said.
Survivors of the nuclear blast are known as "hibakusha" in Japan. Many hibakusha attended the ceremony, along with 50,000 other people, where they lit candles and prayed, according to the Independent.
"The atomic bomb is the ultimate inhumane weapon and an absolute evil," Matsui said. "The hibakusha, who know the hell of an atomic bombing, have continuously fought that evil."
Matsui also attacked Abe for his plans to restart many of Japans nuclear power plants. The majority of the nation's reactors were taken offline after a tsunami caused a massive meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011. Tokyo Electric Power recently said that radioactive material has been leaking into the Atlantic Ocean constantly since the incident, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
"This summer, eastern Japan is still suffering the aftermath of the great earthquake and the nuclear accident," Matsui said. "The desperate struggle to recover hometowns continues. The people of Hiroshima know well the ordeal of recovery. We urge the national government to rapidly develop and implement a responsible energy policy that places top priority on safety and the livelihoods of people."
