Remembering 80 years of Hiroshima and Nagasaki |
06 August 2025
Secretary-General's message to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial on the 80th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
[delivered by Under-Secretary-General Izumi Nakamitsu on behalf of the Secretary-General]
Eighty years ago, the world changed forever.
In a single moment, Hiroshima was engulfed in flames. Tens of thousands of lives were lost. A city was reduced to ruins. And humanity crossed a threshold from which there could be no return.
On this 80th anniversary, we remember those who perished. We stand with the families who carry their memory.
And we honour the brave hibakusha — the survivors — whose voices have become a moral force for peace. While their numbers grow smaller each year, their testimony — and their eternal message of peace — will never leave us.
In the aftermath of the atomic bombing, many believed Hiroshima would never recover and that nothing would grow again. But the people of this city proved otherwise.
You, the people of Hiroshima, didn’t just rebuild a city. You rebuilt hope. You nurtured a vision of a world without nuclear weapons. And you shared that vision with the world.
In May, saplings grown from seeds of trees that survived the atomic bombing were planted at United Nations Headquarters in New York. They are more than symbols of survival. They are living testaments to the strength of the human spirit — and of our shared duty to protect future generations from the horrors of nuclear annihilation.
This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, and we are reminded why the UN was created: to prevent war, to uphold human dignity, and to ensure the tragedies of the past are never repeated.
Yet, today the risk of nuclear conflict is growing. Trust is eroding. Geopolitical divisions are widening. And the very weapons that brought such devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki are once again being treated as tools of coercion.
Yet, there are signs of hope.
Last year, the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo — which represents the survivors of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings — was awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for its tireless work in raising awareness about this critical issue.
And in the Pact for the Future, adopted last year, countries re-committed to a world free of nuclear weapons.
But commitments must lead to real change by strengthening the global disarmament regime — in particular, the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, complemented by the momentum created by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Countries must draw strength from the resilience of Hiroshima and from the wisdom of the hibakusha.
Let’s work to eradicate the threat of nuclear weapons by eradicating the weapons themselves.
And let’s keep our pledge to the hibakusha, and ensure that their testimony and message of peace is carried forward. Remembering the past is about protecting and building peace today — and in the future.
The City of Hiroshima
PEACE DECLARATION
August 6, 2025
Eighty years ago, Hiroshima was strewn with bodies too damaged to identify even their sex. One hibakusha (survivor) ignored the many glass shards piercing her body to cremate her father with her own hands. Elsewhere, a young woman begged, "I don't care if I die. Please! Give me water!" Decades later, a woman who heard that plea still regretted not giving the young woman water. She told herself that fighting for the elimination of nuclear weapons was the best she could do for those who
died. Another hibakusha spent his life alone because the parents of the woman he loved refused to let her marry anyone exposed to the bomb.
One hibakusha leader frequently reminded younger audiences, "Building a peaceful world without nuclear weapons will demand our never-give-up spirit. We have to talk and keep talking to people who hold opposing views." Today, conveying the ardent pleas for peace derived from hibakusha experiences is more crucial than ever.
The United States and Russia still possess about 90 percent of the world's nuclear warheads. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the chaos in the Middle East are accelerating military buildups around the world. Feeling the pressure of this situation, policymakers in some countries even accept the idea that "nuclear weapons are essential for national defense." These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learned from the tragedies of history.
They threaten to topple the peacebuilding frameworks so many have worked so hard to construct.
Despite the current turmoil at the nation-state level, we, the people, must never give up. Instead, we must work even harder to build civil society consensus that nuclear weapons must be abolished for a genuinely peaceful world. Our youth, the leaders of future generations, must recognize that misguided policies regarding military spending, national security, and nuclear weapons could bring utterly inhumane consequences. We urge them to step forward with this understanding and lead civil
society toward consensus through expanded participation at the grassroots level. In this process, we must all remember to think less about ourselves and more about each other. Thinking of others is how humanity has resolved much conflict and turmoil on our path to the present day. Clearly, nations, too, must look beyond narrow self-interest to consider the circumstances of other nations.
In expanding grassroots initiatives, solidarity will be indispensable. Cultural arts and sports exchanges contribute enormously to the culture of peace we seek. And in fostering that culture of peace, young people can easily take the lead. All they need to do is conceive and initiate projects they can carry out in the course of daily life, such as peace-centered art and music projects or planting seeds and saplings from atomic-bombed trees. The City of Hiroshima continuously offers opportunities to experience the culture of peace built by Hiroshima's hibakusha and other predecessors in their spirit of mutual support. The more our peace culture transcends national borders, the more it will pressure policymakers now relying on nuclear deterrence to revise their policies.
Policymakers around the world, can you not see that security policies derived from narrow self-interest are fomenting international conflict? Nations now strengthening their military forces, some including nuclear arsenals, must engage constructively in talks aimed at abandoning reliance on nuclear weapons. Please, visit Hiroshima. Witness with your own eyes what an atomic bombing does. Take to heart the peace-loving spirit of Hiroshima, then begin immediately discussing a security framework based on trust through dialogue.
Japan is the only nation that has suffered an atomic bombing in war. The Japanese government represents a people who aspire to genuine and lasting peace. Hiroshima demands that our government lead toward unification of our divided international community. As president of Mayors for Peace, already the world's largest network of peace cities and still growing, the City of Hiroshima will collaborate with our more than 8,500 member cities worldwide to instill the culture of peace, which stands in firm opposition to military force. We will call on policymakers to revise their policies. We call on Japan, for example, to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Doing so would manifest the spirit of Hiroshima and begin to answer the supplications of our hibakusha, represented by Nihon Hidankyo, last year's Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is on the brink of dysfunctionality. The TPNW should serve as strong support for that treaty, helping it remain the cornerstone of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. We demand that Japan at least participate as an observer during the first TPNW Review Conference next year. Furthermore, in light of the intensified global challenges of coping with radiation damage due to nuclear testing, we demand that our government strengthen measures of support for all hibakusha, including those living abroad. With their average age now exceeding 86,they still face myriad hardships caused by radiation damage to their minds and bodies.
At this Peace Memorial Ceremony marking 80 years since the atomic bombing, we offer our heartfelt condolences to the souls of the victims of the atomic bombings. We renew our determination to work together with Nagasaki and with likeminded people around the world to reach humanity's long-sought goal-the abolition of nuclear weapons leading to lasting world peace.l
MATSUI Kazumi
Mayor
The City of Hiroshima
Address by Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru at the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony
August 9, 2025
Today, on the occasion of the opening of the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing, as prime minister, I reverently express my sincere condolences to the souls who were victims of the atomic bomb. I also extend my heartfelt sympathy to those still suffering even now from the aftereffects of the atomic bomb.
It was 80 years ago today that this city was reduced to ashes in an instant by a single atomic bomb, leaving not a single tree or blade of grass. The lives and futures of what is said to be well more than 70,000 souls were obliterated by a plutonium-type bomb whose power surpassed that of the one dropped on Hiroshima. Many of those who perished were ordinary citizens. Even those who somehow escaped death despite this horrific scene suffered long-term health problems.
Now, 80 years later, as the division within the international community widens over approaches to nuclear disarmament, we find ourselves facing an extremely harsh security environment.
But even in the most severe circumstances, the mission for Japan, as the only country to have experienced the horror of nuclear devastation in war, is to lead the efforts of the international community to bring about "a world without nuclear war" and “a world without nuclear weapons” while firmly upholding the Three Non-Nuclear Principles. Taking one step forward and then another, we will steadily build up efforts over time to realize just such a world.
The foundation on which this is based is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the mainstay of the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. As the world prepares for next year's Review Conference of the Parties to the NPT, Japan, based on the Hiroshima Action Plan, will tenaciously urge both nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states to demonstrate the spirit of dialogue and cooperation to the fullest and act in unity in working towards a meaningful outcome. Japan will also continue to press forward with realistic and practical measures.
Communicating the realities of the atomic bombings is tremendously important as a starting point for all efforts aimed at nuclear disarmament. We have urged leaders and future leaders from all around the world to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and many have come to see these cities with their own eyes.
The awarding of the prestigious honor of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, was truly momentous, and I express my wholehearted respect to Nihon Hidankyo for its work over so many years in promoting the abolition of nuclear weapons and advancing understanding of the tragic realities of the atomic bombings.
Since taking office as prime minister, I have visited Ioto, a place of staggering loss of life during the war, the Himeyuri Peace Memorial Museum in Okinawa, and Hiroshima, where an atomic bombing took place, and today I have come here to Nagasaki. We must pass down as memories what unfolded here in Japan 80 years ago -- the reality and the tragedy of war, and the brutal impact of the harm wrought by the atomic bombings. We must not allow those memories to fade away under any circumstances. I stand determined to step up our efforts to advance accurate understanding of the terrible realities of the atomic bombings across generations and beyond national borders.
The Government will continue to advance comprehensive relief measures covering health and medical services and welfare of atomic bomb survivors, who are advancing in years. We will work to conduct screenings for recognizing atomic bomb diseases as quickly as we can so that we can convey the results as soon as possible.
In December we began providing to people who experienced the atomic bombings medical expense assistance equivalent to that provided to atomic bomb survivors for a wide range of common diseases. We will continue to implement these measures steadily.
Just now, ending an interlude spanning 80 years, two Angelus bells, pealing in unison, rang out with the same tonal resonance they did in the past, together with the Bell of Nagasaki here in Peace Park.
"It is my earnest prayer that Urakami may be the world’s final atomic plain."
These words referencing the devastated Urakami district of the city were left to us by the late Dr. NAGAI Takashi, who survived the atomic bombing while working at Nagasaki Medical College. The devastation that occurred in Nagasaki and Hiroshima must never be repeated.
The right hand of the Peace Statue points skyward, denoting atomic weaponry, while its left hand reaches out horizontally, in a prayer for peace. Standing before this Peace Statue, whose gently closed eyes are imbued with mourning for the victims, I pledge once again that Japan will continue to make its utmost efforts for the realization of a world without nuclear war and a world without nuclear weapons, as well as for the realization of eternal peace.
I will end my address with my heartfelt prayers that the souls of those who fell victim to the atomic bombing rest in peace. I also pray sincerely for the inner peace of the bereaved families and the atomic bomb survivors as well as all the participants today and the people of Nagasaki City.
ISHIBA Shigeru
Prime Minister of Japan
August 9, 2025
https://japan.kantei.go.jp/103/statement/202508/09nagasaki.html
https://youtu.be/F_YBwz4vOq4?si=TMpqb2YMPQFe6zAr
Einstein wrote aletter to the American President Roosevelt on August 2, 1939—one month before the Third Reich began World War II. In it, a physicist warned the 32nd president of the United States that Adolf Hitler wanted to create a nuclear bomb. The physicist urged the US government to do the same. And after the letter, Roosevelt formed a committee, the forerunner of Robert Oppenheimerʼs Manhattan Project, which created the bomb dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki .
Linus Pauling Note to Self regarding a meeting with Albert Einstein. November 16, 1954
Pauling recounts two specific quotes from Einstein: "Oxenstierna said to his son, 'You would be astonished to know with how little wisdom the world is governed'" and "I made one great mistake in my life -- when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification -- the danger that the Germans would make them.".
The Szilárd petition, drafted and circulated in July 1945 by scientist Leo Szilard, was signed by 70 scientists working on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois. It asked President Harry S. Truman to inform Japan of the terms of surrender demanded by the allies, and allow Japan to either accept or refuse these terms, before America used atomic weapons.
The Russell-Einstein Manifesto." July 9, 1955.
Issued in London and signed by eleven prominent scientists.
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| Little Boy atom bomb used in the city of Hiroshima by US |
Replica of Little Boy atom bomb used in the city of Hiroshima by US
Fat Man replica of atom bomb used in Nagasaki
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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| Military Order of August 5,1945 |
Mushroom cloud - 15 minutes after bombing
The Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall,
known today as the Atomic Bomb Dome
Remembering 80 years of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
This presentation was made for screening in educational institutions to promote awareness about the dangers of nuclear weapons and create public opinion in favor of a nuclear-weapons-free world.
80 years of Hiroshima and Nagasaki |
The 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a solemn occasion for remembrance, reflection, and calls for nuclear disarmament and peace. These episodes, which occurred in 1945, resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and left a lasting impact on Japan and the whole world.
It is significant that we are observing this anniversary in the midst of ongoing global conflicts and tensions. The Russia-Ukraine war, the deadly conflict in Gaza, and the civil war in Sudan are stark reminders of the human cost of war. Tensions in the Middle East, particularly between Iran and Israel, highlight the fragility of peace.
The prevailing situation underscores the urgent need for working vigorously for the total elimination of nuclear weapons from the planet earth. Therefore, the campaign for nuclear disarmament, whether from India or other parts of the globe, assumes significance.
To read full article visit
https://globalgandhi.com/80-years-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-a-call-for-sustainable-peace/
