Hiroshima remembers A-bomb victims as 'global tragedies' unfold

TOKYO

The mayor of Hiroshima said on Tuesday that wars in Ukraine and Gaza were deepening fear and distrust worldwide, on the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing that devastated the Japanese city.

Kazumi Matsui made a sombre speech at a memorial event to commemorate the victims of the U.S. nuclear attack on Aug. 6, 1945 that left around 140,000 people dead.

"Russia's protracted invasion of Ukraine and the worsening situation between Israel and Palestine are claiming the lives of countless innocent people and shattering normal life," he said.

"These global tragedies are deepening distrust and fear among nations, reinforcing the public assumption that to solve international problems we have to rely on military force, which we should be rejecting."

Days after the 1945 Hiroshima attack, a second U.S. nuclear bomb hit Nagasaki in southwest Japan, killing around 74,000 people.

During yesterday’s ceremony, dignitaries including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida bowed deeply and laid wreaths at the memorial cenotaph featuring the inscription "rest in peace".

Today, Hiroshima is a thriving metropolis of 1.2 million people, but the ruins of a domed building stand in the city center as a stark reminder of the attack's horrors.

For the third year running, Russia and Belarus were not invited to the ceremony because of the Ukraine crisis.

The Israeli ambassador attended the ceremony as usual, but according to local media, Hiroshima has never invited a Palestinian representative.

"That an invitation wasn't extended to Palestine is shocking", the Permanent General Mission of Palestine to Japan said on social media platform X last month.