Commemorating the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki; Residents Pray for a World Without Conflict

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:07 JST, August 9, 2024

About 200 people offered silent prayers during a mass to mourn the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki at the city’s Urakami Cathedral early on Friday morning.

Located about 500 meters of the hypocenter, the cathedral collapsed as a result of the atomic blast, leaving only a part of its walls standing. Of its roughly 12,000 faithful, about 8,500 are said to have died in the area.

“Let us pray that the victims of the atomic bomb will rest in peace and that peace will spread from us to others around us,” priest Kenichiro Nakano said to mass attendees.

“The glass in our house was shattered, and we rushed into an air-raid shelter,” said Tatsumi Nakamura, a 86-year-old Nagasaki resident. “Our uncle, who was exposed to the bombing, died after suffering for three days. I want the world to be at peace and without conflict.”