The Japanese city of Hiroshima called on the international community on Wednesday to reach a consensus to end nuclear weapons, on the day that marks the 80th anniversary of its atomic bombing, the first in history.

“Despite the current turmoil at the state level, we, the people, must never give up. Instead, we must strive even harder to build a consensus in civil society on the need to abolish nuclear weapons for a truly peaceful world,” said Mayor Kazumi Matsui today in a peace declaration read during the ceremony.

In the text, which is made public each year on this important date, the mayor sends a clear message to leaders around the world, asking them to reflect and realize that their policies are the cause of global conflicts.

“Please visit Hiroshima. Witness with your own eyes what an atomic bombing causes. Accept it with sincerity the peaceful spirit of Hiroshima and immediately begin to discuss a security framework based on trust through dialogue,” the statement added, calling on leaders.

Some 55,000 people from 120 countries and regions took part in the peace ceremony in the Japanese city on Wednesday, marking a record diplomatic representation despite 35-degree temperatures and heat exhaustion warnings this morning.

The Peace Bell rang out in the city’s Peace Memorial Park during the minute of silence observed at 8:15 a.m. local time (23:15 GMT Tuesday), the exact time the bomb “Little Boy” was dropped by the Enola Gay bomber on the city, killing 1,000 people. snapshot of some 70,000 people, a number that would double by the end of 1945.

Japan Position

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Wednesday that Tokyo must "lead global efforts" to achieve a world without nuclear weapons, during his speech at the ceremony.

“Leading the international community to achieve a world without nuclear weapons is Japan’s mission as the only country to have suffered an atomic bomb in war and to uphold the three non-nuclear principles,” Ishiba said.

The president also rejected the possibility of the country sharing US nuclear weapons and reaffirmed the Japanese government’s willingness to respect those principles.

In the background, protest slogans from anti-nuclear demonstrators could be heard outside the event venue.

An unprecedented 120 countries and regions, including Israel, representatives of the Palestinian Authority and Ukraine, but not Russia, participated in the meeting today.

Greater risk than ever

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) used the occasion to warn that the risk of atomic weapons being used is greater now than ever before due to ongoing tensions and conflicts.

“The risk of the use of nuclear weapons is higher now than ever; we have a series of confrontations and conflicts involving nuclear-weapon states,” explained ICAN’s executive director, Melissa Parke, in an interview with EFE news agency.

Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, the organization finds the discourse that nuclear weapons can be used tactically particularly worrying: “We have to remember that the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be described today as nuclear weapons.” tactics,” he added.