Japan calls for abolishment of nuclear weapons on Hiroshima anniversary

Eugene Hoshiko/AP Sumiteru Taniguchi was a teen riding a bicycle when an atomic bomb dropped in Nagasaki, Japan, 70 years ago. She read a poem for people who attended a memorial ceremony at city hall this afternoon.

Prime Minister Abe, who in a speech at the ceremony called for abolishing nuclear weapons, answered his critics by arguing that the legislation was essential to ensure Japan’s safety. She said those stories must be passed on to future generations and the world must continue nonproliferation efforts. The top-secret operation was code named the Manhattan Project in honor of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Manhattan district. A second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later.

“It also underscores the importance of the agreement we’ve reached with Iran to reduce the possibility of more nuclear weapons“, said Kerry, who is attending a meeting of regional leaders in Kuala Lumpur.

But in Hiroshima, the scene was peaceful.

He renewed an invitation to world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see the scars themselves, during the G-7 summit in Japan next year. An estimated 187,000 people, mostly civilians, died in the two cities, and many more were to suffer for years from radiation illnesses. Nearly 30% said they were not sure one way or the other. A woman prays for the victims of the atomic bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan early Thursday, August 6, 2015. Ogura maintains that the killings of innocent Japanese people were war crimes.

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that seven associations of Hiroshima survivors met with Abe on Thursday and demanded that he withdraw the bills clearing the way for the constitutional revision.

People from all around the world in the Japanese city of Hiroshima have commemorated the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb being dropped on a city, by a U.S. aircraft during World War II.

Perhaps you don’t agree with Meyer when it comes to the atomic bombings or the U.S. invasion of Iraq – although on the latter point, about 60 percent of Americans now say the Iraq invasion wasn’t worth it, according to a May poll by Quinnipiac University.

The aim is to mobilise people in all countries to inspire, persuade and pressure their governments to initiate and support negotiations for a treaty banning nuclear weapons.

A more benign response has been one tinged with regret, and hope that such a drastic measure will never be resorted to again.

“They were trained to be killers”, Meyer said.