TOKYO – Nagasaki on Monday marked the 76th anniversary of the United States (US) atomic bombing of the Japanese city.
In a speech at the Nagasaki Peace Park, Mayor Tomihisa Taue urged Japan’s government to take the lead in creating a nuclear-free zone in Northeast Asia.
Taue also singled out the US and Russia – which have the biggest arsenals by far – to do more for nuclear disarmament, as he raised concern that nuclear states have backtracked from disarmament efforts and are upgrading and miniaturizing nuclear weapons.
At 11:02 a.m., the moment the B-29 bomber dropped a plutonium bomb, Nagasaki survivors and other participants in the ceremony stood in a minute of silence to honor more than 70,000 lives lost.
The Aug. 9, 1945, bombing came three days after the US made the world’s first atomic attack on Hiroshima, killing 140,000. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II.(AP)
