HIROSHIMA, Japan, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- In the heart of Hiroshima City in western Japan stands a building that bears the scars of the atomic bombing. With its shattered walls, exposed brickwork, and the skeletal remains of its distinctive dome-shaped roof, the building has come to be known as the Genbaku Dome, or the Atomic Bomb Dome.
On Aug. 6, 1945, in an effort to force Japan, a primary Axis aggressor in World War II, to surrender as soon as possible, the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, which detonated in the air near the Genbaku Dome.
Eighty-one years later, arguments within the Japanese government to revise its non-nuclear principles are increasing, while civil voices opposing Japan's nuclear armament and calling on the country to uphold peace are struggling in front of the iconic bombing site.
Large numbers of Japanese citizens began gathering in front of the Genbaku Dome at 6 p.m. local time Wednesday, urging the country to reflect on its history of aggression and protesting Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration's nuclear-related moves.
For a long time, the Japanese government has portrayed the country as a "victim" of the atomic bombings, while rarely acknowledging the historical context, let alone the heinous crimes Japan committed against its Asian neighbors and the United States during World War II.
Yasuyuki Yagi, a protester who lives in Hiroshima, said the historical roots of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima lie in Japan's earlier aggression against China, the Korean Peninsula and Southeast Asia.
"We cannot simply remain fixated on a victim mentality," Toshiko Yamamoto, a protester, said. "As a country that was once an aggressor, Japan must never allow such aggression to happen again. We must never repeat the same mistakes."
As the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombings, Japan should have drawn profound lessons from history, remained committed to peaceful development, and earned the trust of the international community through concrete actions.
Instead, the Takaichi administration has not only failed to reflect on Japan's wartime aggression but has also accelerated military expansion and repeatedly tested the waters on the issue of nuclear armament, exposing the conservative forces' ambitions for remilitarization and acquiring nuclear weapons.
In November last year, Japanese media reported that the Takaichi administration intends to revise the principle of not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan when updating the country's three key national security documents by the end of this year.
In December, an official who advises Takaichi on security policy declared that "Japan should possess nuclear weapons."
This July, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi openly called for Japan to discuss nuclear-related policies without taboo. The series of moves and remarks has sparked widespread concern in Japan and the international community.
Mayuri Matsuo, who attended the event from Kyoto, said that given the painful lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan should be promoting the ideals of peace. However, she said, recent developments indicate that the country is "moving in the exact opposite direction."
Speaking to Xinhua on Wednesday evening near the Genbaku Dome, Tomoko Tamura, chair of the Japanese Communist Party, said any attempt to revise the Three Non-Nuclear Principles is absolutely unacceptable.
She warned that if U.S. nuclear weapons were allowed into Japan, or if U.S. nuclear-powered submarines carrying nuclear weapons were permitted to be deployed in the country, Japan would become a frontline base for U.S. nuclear strikes. "This is absolutely intolerable," Tamura said.
At midnight, a group of young Japanese gathered in front of the Genbaku Dome to stage a protest.
"No to war," "No revision of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles," and "Never repeat the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" -- the protesters' chants echoed through the night. ■