TOKYO: As the memories of one of history’s darkest moments grow distant, Nagasaki once again became a voice for peace on Sunday, with survivors and global representatives gathering to honour atomic bomb victims and demand an end to nuclear weapons.
Eighty-one years after the city was destroyed by a US atomic bomb, Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki warned that the world must not accept nuclear deterrence as a path to security.
The Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony, held at Nagasaki Peace Park, brought together representatives from more than 90 countries, atomic bomb survivors, victims’ families, and government officials to commemorate those killed in the August 9, 1945, atomic bombing.
A moment of silence was observed at 11:02 a.m., the exact time when the US B-29 bomber dropped the plutonium bomb, known as “Fat Man,” over Nagasaki. The attack killed around 70,000 people by the end of 1945, three days after the Hiroshima bombing that claimed approximately 140,000 lives.
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In his annual peace declaration, Mayor Shiro Suzuki expressed concern over what he described as a slowdown in global nuclear disarmament efforts and warned against increasing dependence on nuclear deterrence.
“Nuclear weapons are not a ‘necessary evil’ but an ‘absolute evil,’ and can never coexist with humanity,” Suzuki said.
He argued that while some countries view nuclear weapons as a means of preventing attacks, the destruction caused by Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed the devastating consequences of their use.
Suzuki urged nuclear-armed states and countries relying on nuclear alliances to recognize the risks of such policies and work towards the complete abolition of nuclear weapons.
The anniversary came as Japanese Prime Minister **Sanae Takaichi’s government reviews the country’s defence policy and considers expanding military capabilities.
The developments have sparked concerns among survivors and peace activists over whether Japan could ease its long-standing Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which state that the country will not possess, produce, or allow the introduction of nuclear weapons.
Speaking at the ceremony, Takaichi said Japan remains committed to achieving a world without nuclear weapons through a “realistic and practical approach.” However, she avoided directly addressing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which Japan has not signed due to its security alliance with the United States.
She later said Japan would continue working through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty framework while balancing national security concerns with efforts toward nuclear disarmament.
For the remaining atomic bomb survivors, the ceremony served as a reminder that the human cost of nuclear warfare must not be forgotten.
The number of registered survivors has fallen to 91,105, according to Japan’s Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, with their average age exceeding 86 years.
During the ceremony, three memorial registers containing the names of 2,773 survivors who died over the past year were added to the list of victims.
With the survivor population declining, Nagasaki continues to urge the international community to preserve the lessons of the atomic bombings and ensure that the city remains the last place in history to experience nuclear destruction.
