Anniversary of Hiroshima Raid Recalled

HIROSHIMA, Japan -- In a nation increasingly worried about regional tensions, the citizens of Hiroshima on Friday recalled the moment 54 years ago when an atomic bomb decimated the city and killed 140,000 people.

About 50,000 people gathered for a silent prayer in the Peace Memorial Park at 8:15 a.m. -- the exact moment a U.S. atomic bomb exploded above the western city on Aug. 6, 1945.

Incense spiraled from altars in the park as people clad in black made offerings of flowers and lighted candles.

Others brought thousands of folded paper cranes as a symbol of peace by which to remember the day half a century ago when the city became a living hell.

Hanging over the solemn commemoration were more recent concerns about Asian tensions, from North Korea’s threat of a missile test to the nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan.

In a Yomiuri newspaper poll this week, 70% of respondents said they were fearful a war might break out near Japan.

“India and Pakistan are building atomic weapons because they’ve never experienced a nuclear disaster,” said 66-year-old Hiroshi Takei. “We need events like today’s memorial to educate people.”

North Korea is expected to test-fire another ballistic missile with enough range to reach the U.S.; Taiwan’s war of words with China has escalated; and India and Pakistan recently skirmished over disputed Kashmir.

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi pledged anew that Japan will continue to endorse a world without nuclear weapons, despite the recent deterioration in global security.

“The course toward the abolishment of nuclear weapons is still in a severe situation,” Obuschi said in an address at the Peace Memorial Park.

In Hiroshima’s annual peace declaration, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba praised bombing survivors and urged the world to adopt their willpower in the struggle for disarmament.

“They were able to transcend the infernal pain and despair and to opt for life,” Akiba said. After his declaration, about 1,500 doves were released into the sky as 300 children sang a song of peace.

But not everybody in Hiroshima shared the solemn mood.

“The atomic bomb ceremony is bringing a lot of tourist money to Hiroshima,” said Hiroshi Nagarede, 80, whose elder sister was killed by the bomb. “I don’t participate in ceremonies myself.”

Another citizen, Minoru Sakiie, 79, expressed understanding for the U.S. atomic attack, which killed his father and younger sister.

“In war, countries use every means to crush each other, so the bombing was probably inevitable,” he said. “Japan would have probably used the bomb if it had developed one.”

On Friday, the names of 5,071 people who were in Hiroshima on the day of the bombing and who have died since last year’s anniversary were added to a monument dedicated to the victims.

The number of names on the cenotaph now stands at 212,116.