Hiroshima

Thousands gather in Hiroshima for 70th anniversary of atomic bomb

By Kimberly Truong

Cloud rising over Hiroshima

Thousands of attendees observed a moment of silence on Thursday morning during a ceremony in Hiroshima, Japan, to honor the 70th anniversary of the city's bombing by U.S. forces during World War II.

Among those present were Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, and visitors, residents, and 150 other officials, Japan Times reported.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony is held each year on Aug. 6 at the city's Peace Memorial Park to commemorate the anniversary of the atomic bombing, and has been an annual event since 1947, two years after the bomb was dropped.

This year's commemorative ceremonies for victims began in Hiroshima on Wednesday, with children holding a "die-in" in front of the peace park's Atomic Bomb Dome.

Before the official ceremony on Thursday, those who wished to pay their respects bowed in prayer before a monument in the middle of the park's square. More than 40,000 people attended the ceremony, according to USA Today.

"I lost many friends by the bomb and today I prayed that their souls rest in peace and that we never participate in another war," bombing survivor Satoko Iwamoto told NBC.

At 8:15 a.m, officials rang the Peace Bell as those present observed one minute of silence, marking the exact moment when the atomic bomb was dropped 70 years ago.

According to the BBC, the prime minister addressed those gathered by calling for worldwide nuclear disarmament to prevent the kind of suffering the country saw after the atomic bombing.

"Today Hiroshima has been revived, and has become a city of culture and prosperity," he said.

As the ceremony closed, a student band and choir sang as the prime minister led dignitaries to the monument to offer flowers.

According to NBC, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui added 5,359 people to the official registry of victims' names, bringing the total number of affected victims overall to 297,684.

On Aug. 6, 1945, the American B-29 bomber known as Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima in accordance with President Harry Truman's authorization. The bomb was detonated at 1,800 feet above the city, and killed some 140,000 people that day and in the weeks and months that followed. On Aug. 9, another bomb was detonated over Nagasaki, where tens of thousands more perished. Japan surrendered, ending the second World War, days later.

Later on Thursday evening in Hiroshima, a Peace Message Lantern Floating Ceremony will be held, during which attendees can write messages of peace on lanterns, which will then be lit and set afloat on the city's Motoyasu River, passing by the Atomic Bomb Dome.

“To coexist we must abolish the absolute evil and ultimate inhumanity that are nuclear weapons," Hiroshima Mayor Matsui said during the morning ceremony. "Now is the time to start taking action.”