On 80th anniversary of atomic bombing, Peace Declaration calls for building civil society consensus on nuclear abolition, urging young people to take action with “never give up” spirit
Aug. 7, 2025
by Hiroaki Watanabe, Staff Writer
The annual Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony was held in Peace Memorial Park in the city’s Naka Ward by the City of Hiroshima on August 6, the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the U.S. military. In his Peace Declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui stressed that “we must never give up and work even harder to build a civil society consensus that nuclear weapons must be abolished for a genuinely peaceful world.” With the average age of atomic bomb survivors exceeding 86, the mayor called on young people, who will lead the next generation, to take action.
About 55,000 people, including atomic bomb survivors, bereaved families, and citizens, participated from home and abroad. This year, the City of Hiroshima sent “notifications,” rather than “invitations,” to government representatives from other countries. Delegates from a record 120 countries, regions and European Union (EU) attended the ceremony. Attendees from the Palestinian National Authority and Taiwan were among those present at the ceremony for the first time.
Mr. Matsui sounded the alarm about the growing idea among policymakers that nuclear weapons are essential given the increasing chaos of the current international situation. He then called on young people to take action, explaining that the spread of a culture of peace “will pressure policymakers now relying on nuclear deterrence to revise their policies.”
The mayor demanded Japan participate as an observer in the first Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), planned for November of next year, based on an appeal from the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), a Nobel Peace Prize winner last year. Citing the words “Never give up” of the late Sunao Tsuboi, former co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo and chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo), who continued to call for a peaceful world without nuclear weapons. Mr. Matsui stressed the importance of passing down the A-bomb experiences from the survivors.
The ceremony began at 8:00 a.m. The register of A-bomb victims, to which the names of 4,940 victims whose deaths were confirmed during the past year were newly added, was placed in the stone chest beneath the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. The register now consists of 130 volumes, two more than last year, and contains the names of 349,246 victims. At 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, all attendees observed a moment of silence as the Peace Bell tolled. Following the Peace Declaration, two sixth-grade elementary school students read aloud their “Commitment to Peace.”
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba declared that Japan will lead the international community’s initiative to pursue a “world free of nuclear weapons” while continuing to firmly uphold the three nonnuclear principles (of not possessing, not producing and not allowing the entry of nuclear weapons into Japan), stating that it is the “mission of the only nation that has suffered an atomic bombing in war.” However, he did not mention the TPNW. Hidehiko Yuzaki, Governor of Hiroshima, expressed doubt about nuclear deterrence and appealed that “we must eliminate nuclear weapons as a component of deterrence.” For the first time, a bulletproof panel was placed on the rostrum.
As of the end of March, the number of A-bomb survivors who hold an Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate was 99,130. Their average age is 86.13 years old.
(Originally published on August 7, 2025)
The annual Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony was held in Peace Memorial Park in the city’s Naka Ward by the City of Hiroshima on August 6, the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the U.S. military. In his Peace Declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui stressed that “we must never give up and work even harder to build a civil society consensus that nuclear weapons must be abolished for a genuinely peaceful world.” With the average age of atomic bomb survivors exceeding 86, the mayor called on young people, who will lead the next generation, to take action.
About 55,000 people, including atomic bomb survivors, bereaved families, and citizens, participated from home and abroad. This year, the City of Hiroshima sent “notifications,” rather than “invitations,” to government representatives from other countries. Delegates from a record 120 countries, regions and European Union (EU) attended the ceremony. Attendees from the Palestinian National Authority and Taiwan were among those present at the ceremony for the first time.
Mr. Matsui sounded the alarm about the growing idea among policymakers that nuclear weapons are essential given the increasing chaos of the current international situation. He then called on young people to take action, explaining that the spread of a culture of peace “will pressure policymakers now relying on nuclear deterrence to revise their policies.”
The mayor demanded Japan participate as an observer in the first Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), planned for November of next year, based on an appeal from the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), a Nobel Peace Prize winner last year. Citing the words “Never give up” of the late Sunao Tsuboi, former co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo and chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo), who continued to call for a peaceful world without nuclear weapons. Mr. Matsui stressed the importance of passing down the A-bomb experiences from the survivors.
The ceremony began at 8:00 a.m. The register of A-bomb victims, to which the names of 4,940 victims whose deaths were confirmed during the past year were newly added, was placed in the stone chest beneath the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims. The register now consists of 130 volumes, two more than last year, and contains the names of 349,246 victims. At 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb was dropped, all attendees observed a moment of silence as the Peace Bell tolled. Following the Peace Declaration, two sixth-grade elementary school students read aloud their “Commitment to Peace.”
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba declared that Japan will lead the international community’s initiative to pursue a “world free of nuclear weapons” while continuing to firmly uphold the three nonnuclear principles (of not possessing, not producing and not allowing the entry of nuclear weapons into Japan), stating that it is the “mission of the only nation that has suffered an atomic bombing in war.” However, he did not mention the TPNW. Hidehiko Yuzaki, Governor of Hiroshima, expressed doubt about nuclear deterrence and appealed that “we must eliminate nuclear weapons as a component of deterrence.” For the first time, a bulletproof panel was placed on the rostrum.
As of the end of March, the number of A-bomb survivors who hold an Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Certificate was 99,130. Their average age is 86.13 years old.
(Originally published on August 7, 2025)
