A woman mourns at the Peace Memorial Park to mark the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Japan, Aug. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
HIROSHIMA, Japan, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Japan marked the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of its western city of Hiroshima.
People strike the bell to mark the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Japan, Aug. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
At a memorial ceremony held at the Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui cautioned in the Peace Declaration that dependence on nuclear deterrence is gaining momentum in the world.
Photo taken on Aug. 6, 2022 shows paper cranes at the Peace Memorial Park to mark the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Japan. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
"We must immediately render all nuclear buttons meaningless," he said.
Citizens lay flowers in front of the monument at the Peace Memorial Park to mark the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Japan, Aug. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the ceremony, warning that a new arms race is accelerating.
A citizen lays flowers in front of the monument at the Peace Memorial Park to mark the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Japan, Aug. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
A moment of silence was observed at 8:15 a.m. local time, the exact moment a uranium bomb dropped from a U.S. bomber detonated over the city on Aug. 6, 1945, killing around 140,000 people by the end of the year.
Photo taken on Aug. 5, 2022 shows the site of the atomic bombing near the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)
While Japan inwardly looks at the tragedies it had experienced at the end of World War II, historians and political minds of the international community have encouraged Japan to come to see themselves not as merely victims of the atomic bombings but also as the perpetrators who led to these tragic incidents to happen in the first place.
A citizen lights a candle at the Peace Memorial Park to mark the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in Hiroshima, Japan, Aug. 6, 2022.
Japan brutally occupied many parts of Asia before and during World War II, causing untold suffering and death to hundreds of thousands of innocent victims.■
