Hiroshima Marks 80th Anniversary of Atomic Bombing; About 55,000 People Attend Ceremony in Peace Memorial Park

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:52 JST, August 6, 2025

HIROSHIMA — Hiroshima on Wednesday marked the 80th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city with a ceremony attended by about 55,000 people from a record 120 countries and regions.

Participants including atomic bomb survivors, representatives of bereaved families and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba mourned the victims at the ceremony held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in the city’s Naka Ward.

With average age of surviving hibakusha, or atomic bombing victims, reaching 86.13, an era is fast approaching in which there will be no a-bomb survivors left. This makes passing on the experiences of those who are still around a pressing task.

Also in attendance were the ambassador of the European Union to Japan and representatives from some countries which possess nuclear weapons, including the United States and Britain. Participants from Ukraine and Israel, two countries which are currently involved in armed conflicts, also were among the attendees. Palestine and Taiwan sent representatives to the ceremony for the first time.

At 8:15 a.m., the time of the bombing, bereaved family members rang the “Peace Bell,” and participants observed a moment of silence.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui made a “Peace Declaration” to the crowd, during which he referred to the “never-give-up” attitude of the hibakusha, who have refused to surrender in their push for nuclear abolition. “We must work even harder to build civil society consensus that nuclear weapons must be abolished,” he said.

This was the first edition of this ceremony held since the national organization Nihon Hidankyo (The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2024.

In his address, Ishiba expressed his respect for Nihon Hidankyo for winning the prize and pledged to strive for the realization of a world without nuclear weapons. “While continuing to firmly uphold the ‘Three Non-Nuclear Principles,’ Japan will lead the efforts of the international community to bring about ‘a world without nuclear weapons.’ This is Japan’s mission as the only country to have experienced the horror of nuclear devastation in war,” Ishiba said.

At the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims, an updated register of deceased victims was presented. The addition of 4,940 atomic bomb victims whose deaths were confirmed over the past year brought the total number of people listed in the register to 349,246.

According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, there were 99,130 people nationwide who held an official atomic bomb survivor’s certificate as of the end of March, down 7,695 from the previous year. This marks the first time the number has fallen below 100,000 since 1957, the year the certificates were first issued.