Japan condemns Russia’s nuclear threat on the anniversary of Hiroshima as unacceptable

As the nation commemorated the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Sunday, the prime minister of Japan lashed out against Russian threats to deploy nuclear weapons. Days before the conclusion of World War II, on August 6, 1945, the United States launched atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which resulted in about 140,000 deaths in Hiroshima and 74,000 deaths in Nagasaki.

At a ceremony at Hiroshima, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “Japan will continue efforts towards a nuclear-free world, as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings in war.” The international community is more divided on nuclear disarmament and Russia’s nuclear threat, he added, making the way there more difficult.

Given the current circumstances, he continued, it is all the more crucial to regain the worldwide momentum toward the realization of a nuclear-free world. The destruction caused by nuclear bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, according to Kishida, whose family hails from Hiroshima, “can never be repeated.”

In a statement on the anniversary of Hiroshima, Antonio Guterres said that “some countries are recklessly rattling the nuclear sabre once again, threatening to use these tools of annihilation.” Kishida’s remarks reflected Guterres’ assertions. “To address these dangers, the whole community must unite. Nuclear weapons must never be used, according to Guterres.

Thousands of people attended the service, including survivors, family members, and leaders from a record-breaking 111 nations. They prayed for the victims of the attack and appealed for global peace.

However, due to the Ukraine conflict, Hiroshima decided not invite Russia or Belarus to the event for the second consecutive year. When the first nuclear bomb used in war was dropped at 8:15 am (23:15 GMT on Thursday), participants, many of whom were clad in black, said a quiet prayer.

Earlier this year, Kishida held the G7 conference in the area. By taking the leaders of the affluent democracies to the peace park monuments and museum in Hiroshima, he has attempted to further the cause of nuclear disarmament.

With Russia constantly expressing veiled threats that it would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, as well as with ongoing North Korean missile tests and stalled non-proliferation efforts, there is little desire to decrease stockpiles.

More than 100 medical journals from across the globe published a rare united plea for swift action to abolish nuclear weapons earlier this month, stating that the potential of a nuclear disaster was “great and growing.”