Representatives of the authorities of the Japanese city of Hiroshima have called on world leaders stop relying on nuclear weapons as a deterrent and take immediate action to eliminate them. Their call also aims to eliminate the risk of nuclear war against the backdrop of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and growing tensions in East Asia, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
These statements were made on the day of the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. Just a few days ago, Japan and the US reaffirmed Washington's commitment to "extended deterrence", which includes nuclear weapons.
Today, Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki said that nuclear-armed countries and supporters of nuclear deterrence are "deliberately ignoring the fact that once people have invented a weapon, they invariably use it.
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"As long as nuclear weapons exist, they will certainly be used again someday,", Yuzaki stressed in his address at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
"Abolition of nuclear weapons is not an ideal to be achieved in the distant future. On the contrary, it is a pressing and real issue that we desperately need to address at this time, as nuclear issues pose an immediate risk to the survival of humanity," he added.
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui warned that Russia's war in Ukraine and the escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians are "deepening mistrust and fear between nations" and support the position that the use of force in the settlement of conflicts is inevitable.
The atomic bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 devastated the city, killing 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed another 70,000 people. Japan capitulated on August 15, ending World War II and nearly half a century of Japanese aggression in Asia.
About 50,000 people attended today the ceremony in memory of the victims of the nuclear bombing in Hiroshima. They observed a moment of silence as the bell of peace tolled at 8:15 a.m., the moment an American B-29 jet dropped the nuclear bomb on the city nearly eight decades ago. At the end of the ceremony today, the participants released hundreds of white doves, considered symbols of peace, into the sky over Hiroshima.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who attended the ceremony, said global conflicts and disagreements over approaches to nuclear disarmament made achieving that goal "even more difficult" but vowed to do his best to implement the "realistic and practical measures" to gain greater support from the international community.
His critics say this is an empty promise, as Japan relies on the US nuclear umbrella for protection and is rapidly expanding its military power, AP notes.
Japan, the United States and other allies in the region are stepping up security cooperation in response to China's increasingly assertive actions and growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. Tokyo is seeking stronger protection from the US, including through Washington's nuclear capabilities.