Hiroshima marks 81st atomic bombing anniversary, mayor warns

The city of Hiroshima marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on Thursday, August 6, 2026, with a ceremony that served as a stark warning against the global reliance on nuclear deterrence. In a peace declaration at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Mayor Kazumi Matsui criticized world powers for waging wars and urged them to abandon justifications for possessing nuclear weapons.

"Downplaying the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and accepting the use of force to pursue one's own prosperity risk cycles of violent retaliation that could ultimately result in another Hiroshima or Nagasaki," Matsui said. He argued that too many political leaders still consider nuclear deterrence a realistic approach, a stance he said legitimizes violence and pushes a world without such weapons further away. He called on citizens to learn from the past and take action.

Approximately 50,000 people, including representatives from about 120 countries and regions, attended the ceremony. At 8:15 a.m., the exact time the bomb was dropped, a minute of silence was observed as a peace bell rang out.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, attending the memorial for the first time as prime minister, pledged...