Hiroshima, Japan – For over half a century, chimes have run off to Hiroshima, a Japanese city every morning.
The strict ritual shows the exact moment on August 6, 1945. The US bomber Enola Gay dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on top of Hiroshima, killing about 70,000 people immediately.
On Wednesday, the people of Hiroshima celebrated the 80th anniversary of a devastating attack as nuclear weapons are brought globally amid unresolved military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
In a silent tribute for a minute, the city recalled the widespread death and destruction caused by a 10,000-pound bomb.
“It is our duty to communicate the reality of the atomic bomb not only to the Japanese people but also to the people around the world,” Japanese Prime Minister Isbaiba said in his speech.
The bomb, originally intended to slap the T-shaped bridge, was instead heading towards an exhibition hall with a distinctive dome. It was the only building standing within a mile radius after the explosion.
The explosion unleashed a whirlwind of fire and power, incinerating thousands of people. Then came a radioactive black rain.
Yahata Tirco was eight years old at the time.
Yahata, now in the 80s, says he still has scars since he was thrown at him in the explosion. Fearing another bomb, she leaned under the blanket with her family.
“I really didn’t understand what it means to die,” Yahata said.
Three days after bombing Hiroshima, the US unleashed Nagasaki’s second atomic bomb, quickly killing another 40,000 people.
The unprecedented bombing accelerated the end of Japan’s empire’s surrender and World War II, most historians say, but it has a lifespan of nearly 15 million people.
From the ashes, Hiroshima was rebuilt into a busy city of over a million people, attracting tourists from all over the world.
Near the hypocenter, where the bomb exploded about 2,000 feet above it is home to the Peace Memorial Park and the museum, which includes the iconic atomic dome. With a virtual reality headset, visitors can immerse themselves in the bombing and its cruel aftermath while touring the park.
However, the bombing still feels visceral to Hiroshima survivors, known as Hibakusha, or “someone affected by the bomb.” Now, on the average age of 86, they suffered from illness, depression and discrimination for most of their lives.
Nishiko Nishiko, whose father was killed in the war and whose mother and sister died shortly after the bombing, is now 83 years old and contrary to predictions that she has not lived to 20 years old.
Those who say the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved their lives said they “don’t know the reality of nuclear bombs.”
Last year, Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese survivor group, won the Nobel Peace Prize for work.
Hana, the group’s co-chair, is among those advocating nuclear disarmament and confirming that Hiroshima will not be forgotten or repeated.
“We are in a very dangerous situation with Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Iran,” he said. “Even a single nuclear bomb would mean a disaster.”
Janice Freyer / NBC News
According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Russia, the US, China, France, Britain, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea – nine nuclear-armed nations in the world – last year spent over $100 billion on nuclear weapons, an increase of 11% from 2023.
Increased spending on nuclear weapons is in contrast to attitudes towards nuclear weapons. In a June survey of Americans by the Pew Research Center, 69% of respondents said global safety was reduced compared to 10% who said the development of nuclear weapons has made the world safer.
This year’s poll by Japanese telecommunications agency Kyoto News shows that nearly 70% of Japanese atomic bomb survivors believe they can use nuclear weapons again.
Hiroshima survivor Setsuko Thurlow, 93, lost 10 members of his family in the bombing. She said she remembered seeing a procession of people fleeing to the hillside “seems like ghosts.”
“Everyone’s hair was up and lifted up, and the skin and flesh were out of the bone,” she said.
Thurlow went to the US to study in 1954 – in the same year, she tested a hydrogen bomb 1,000 times more powerful than the hydrogen bomb that the US had destroyed Hiroshima, but in 2017 she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of ICAN and spent her life campaigning for nuclear disarmament.
“I ask world leaders to stop and come to the negotiation table. Diplomacy needs to be given greater attention,” she said in a video interview in Toronto. “It’s not nuclear weapons, it’s diplomacy, the exchange of words and ideas.”
The number of Hibakushas is declining, and we fear that living memories of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings will soon disappear. According to Japanese newspaper Asahi Shinbun, as of the end of March, there were 99,130 survivors nationwide.
Responsibility for memory has been addressed by young people such as 12-year-old Shun Sasaki, who has been offering free guided tours of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to foreign visitors since he was seven years old.
Sasaki said that his great grandmother was among those killed in the bombing, but for a long time his family had little acknowledged it.
“The most frightening thing that may happen in the future is forgetting what happened a long time ago,” Sasaki said.
“I don’t want my great grandmother to have the same experience.”
Sasaki is not the only family who avoided talking about the day. Over 70% of respondents in the Kyodo poll said they never spoke about their experiences.
Still, some people feel that speaking is their duty.
“As long as I live, I want to keep saying it,” Yahata said. “I’m a survivor.”
Janis Mackey Frayer and Mai nishyama reported on Arata Yamamoto in Hiroshima, Tokyo, Michael Fiorentino in London and Peter Guo in Hong Kong.
