Aging Hiroshima Survivors Worry About Growing Nuke Threat On 80th Anniversary Of Bombing
Hiroshima, Japan (AP) – Hiroshima on Wednesday 80th anniversary of the US atomic bombing Western Japanese city, many aging Survivors who express disappointment About the increasing support of global leaders for nuclear weapons.
As the number of survivors decreases rapidly and their average age is now exceeding 86, the anniversary is considered the last milestone for many.
A 94 -year -old survivor, Suzuto, said that after his kneeling to pray in Cenotaph, he said, “There will be no one to convey this sad and painful experience in 10 years or 20 years”. “That’s why I want to share my (story) as much as possible.”
On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima destroyed the city and killed 140,000 people. A second bomb fell after three days Nagasaki He killed 70,000. Japan surrendered on August 15th and II.
The Mayor of Hiroshima Kazumi Matsui warned that military savings are increasingly accepting and using nuclear weapons for national security Russian War in Ukraine And the clashes in the Middle East have most of the world’s nuclear war titles in the United States and Russia.
“These developments carefully ignored the lessons of international society that the tragedies of history should learn.” “They threaten to overthrow the framework of peace construction, so he worked hard to build many.”
He called on to accept that younger generations could cause “completely inhuman” consequences for the future of such “misleaded policies”.
“We don’t have much time left when we face a larger nuclear threat than ever before,” he said Nihon Hidankyo, Japanese base organization Due to the search for nuclear lifting of the survivors who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
The organization said, ız Our biggest difficulty in the current current, which gives us a cold shoulder, just changing only a little nuclear weapon states, ”he said.
Representatives from 120 countries and regions, including Russia and Belarus, were expected to attend the ceremony. When a US B-29 dropped the bomb in the city, a minute of silence was made while a peace bell was stolen at 8:15.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru IshibaMayor of the city and other officials left flowers to Cenotaph. After the Mayor’s speech, dozens of white pigeons, a symbol of peace, were released.
Hours before the official ceremony, the Sun rose to Hiroshima, while the survivors and their families began to pay tribute to victims in the Peace Monument Park.
A 74 -year -old retired, Kazuo Miooshi, came to honor his grandfather and two cousins who died in a bombing and prayed that the “mistake” would never be repeated.
“We don’t need nuclear weapons, Miy Miooshi said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, a statement read by the UN Secretary Nakamitsu, Nihon Hidankyo’s Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize of their countries and the future of their countries in a statement re -accepted last year in a statement that was accepted last year.
Guterres emphasized the importance of putting forward the expression of the survivors and the message of peace and added: “Remembering the past is about protecting and building peace in today and in the future.”
The anniversary of Wednesday comes at a time when the presence of nuclear weapons for deterrence is increasingly supported by the international community, including Japan.
The survivors said they were disappointed by the president Donald Trump’s last word justifies Washington’s attack In June, in Iran, Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s atomic bombing and the Japanese government’s slight reaction.
Kosei Mito, a 79 -year -old former high school teacher, said, Kosei Mito, who was still exposed to radiation when he was still in his mother’s womb, said, “Very ridiculous. “I don’t think we can get rid of nuclear weapons as long as he’s right by the attacker.”
Pope Leo Xiv in the Vatican said on Tuesday that the 8th anniversary of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima would pray to the international society as a call for renewing its commitment to peace for our own human family ”.
The Japan government rejected the survivors’ request to sign. Treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons Or attend the meetings as an observer because under the protection of the US nuclear umbrella.
Matsui, the mayor of the city, called on Wednesday to sign the Japan government to sign and approve the nuclear arms ban agreement.
In a conversation, Ishiba reiterated his government’s promise to work for a nuclear unarmed world, but did not mention the agreement and said his government’s support for the deterrence of nuclear weapons.
Past prime ministers emphasized the status of Japan as Japan’s only nuclear attacks, and said that Japan is determined to maintain peace, but the survivors say it is an empty promise.
The Japanese government paid compensation to war veterans and their families, although the survivors requested compensation for civilian victims. They also accepted the US government responsibility for civilian deaths.
Associated Press video journalist McGill contributed to this report.
