Japan marks 78th anniversary of US nuclear attack on Hiroshima

TOKYO - Japan on Sunday commemorated the 78th anniversary of the US atomic bomb attack on the western city of Hiroshima with thousands of people attending an annual ceremony, reported German news agency (dpa).

Participants, including survivors and their descendants, observed a minute’s silence at 8.15am (2315 GMT Saturday) in the Peace Memorial Park near ground zero, the moment when a US B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city 78 years ago in the closing days of World War II.

In his Peace Declaration delivered at the ceremony, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui urged world leaders to abandon the theory of nuclear deterrence.

"Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of nuclear deterrence theory," Matsui said.

"It will be increasingly important for us to urge policymakers to abandon nuclear deterrence in favour of a peaceful world that refuses to compromise individual dignity and security."

The unprecedented nuclear attack in 1945 killed tens of thousands of residents in seconds, and by the end of that year, some 140,000 had died due to the bombing.

The United States dropped a second atomic bomb three days later on Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu. On Aug 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to Allied Forces, bringing the war to an end. - BERNAMA-dpa