Japan marks 70th anniversary of US nuclear attack on Nagasaki
Japan has marked the 70th anniversary of the United States' nuclear attack on Nagasaki amid calls for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
Memorial services were held at the Nagasaki Urakami Cathedral, southern Japan, and its nearby Peace Park on Sunday in the presence of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and tens of thousands of people, including ageing survivors and the relatives of victims.
During the ceremonies, bells tolled and the participants observed a minute of silence at 11:02 a.m. local time (0202 GMT), the exact time that an American plane dropped a plutonium bomb dubbed, Fat Man, on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
About 74,000 people died in the atomic attack on Nagasaki.
The Japanese premier laid a wreath of flowers and addressed the ceremonies with representatives from 75 countries, including US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, attending the ceremony.
"As the only country attacked with an atomic bomb in war, I am renewing our determination to lead the global effort of nuclear disarmament, to create a world without such weapons," Abe said in his speech.
He vowed that Japan will proceed with its long-held non-nuclear principles: not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on the country’s territory.
Meanwhile, a message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon echoed calls to abolish nuclear weapons.
"I wholeheartedly join you in sounding a global rallying cry: No more Nagasakis. No more Hiroshimas," Ban said in his message read by Kim Won-soo, the acting UN high representative for disarmament affairs.
The attack on the Japanese port city of Nagasaki came three days after an American B-29 bomber, Enola Gay, dropped a 4,000-kilogram uranium bomb, dubbed, Little Boy, on Hiroshima.
About 140,000 people are estimated to have died in the Hiroshima attack, including those who survived the bombing itself but later died from radiation exposure in the following years.
The twin atomic attacks forced Japan to surrender on August 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II.
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