An international peace symposium entitled Reestablishing the Trend to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was held on the 1st at the International Conference Center Hiroshima, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City to help arouse public demand for the abolition of nuclear weapons. It was sponsored by the city, the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation and other organizations, and drew an audience of about 400 to the panel discussion.

Professor Kiichi Fujiwara of Tokyo University referred to the display in the US National Air and Space Museum of the atomic bomber Enola Gay saying, "The memories of the atomic bombings differ in the US and Japan. We need to get beyond national borders to look at war." US peace and disarmament educator Kathleen Sullivan, speaking about the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) Review Conference to be hold in 2005, requested "a discussion based on the Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons now being promoted by the city of Hiroshima and others."

Hideaki Shinoda, research fellow at the Institute for Peace Science, Hiroshima University, expressed discomfort with the fact that terrorists are trying to make Hiroshima a symbol of anti-Americanism. He emphasized that, "We have to make Hiroshima a bulwark of humanism." Journalist Tetsuya Chikushi wrapped up saying, "It is important to pass on the memory of Hiroshima as something that humankind must never repeat."