Nagasaki Day 2024: This year's Nagasaki Day, observed annually in August, marks 79 days of the ill-fated day when the United States attacked Japan's city of Nagasaki during World War II in 1945 that resulted in unprecedented death and destruction, sparking global concerns about the use of nuclear weapons. The tragic day followed three days after a similar attack on Hiroshima.
The day is a solemn occasion marked by memorial services, peace vigils and educational programmes aimed at raising the humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons, and it comes particularly when the world is witnessing two large-scale wars in Ukraine and Gaza. The tragic events in 1945 still evoke strong emotional feelings among the Japanese.
In Tokyo, around 2,000 representatives from over 100 countries attended a ceremony at the Nagasaki Peace Park, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated his pledge to pursue a nuclear-free world, according to the Voice of America. The event was marked by the absence of American and other Western envoys over the city's refusal to invite Israel.
Nagasaki Day 2024: Date, history and significance
Nagasaki Day marks the anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city on August 9, 1945. Hence, it is observed on August 9 annually and this year it has fallen on a Friday. During World War II, Japan and the US were engaged in bitter fights that began with the bombing of Pearl Harbour, as Imperial Japan imperial allied with Axis powers (Nazi Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union).
The atomic bomb "Fat Man" dropped by a US B-29 bomber on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, killed as many as 70,000 people, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima killed more than 140,000. Thousands of people were killed in the next two to four months due to the radiation effects of the bombing. Although the exact number of casualties is unknown, the atomic bombs dropped by the US are estimated to have killed more than 200,000 people.
Japan, which was already at the brink of defeat before the bombings took place surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression across Asia. Since then, it has reformed and redeveloped its relations with the US and remains one of its key partners in Asia. Following the bombings, survivors suffered horrific injuries and radiation sickness, experiencing immense physical and psychological trauma.
The day serves as a reminder of the horrific consequences of nuclear warfare and aims to promote the disarmament of nuclear-capable weapons and global efforts for peace to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki have become symbols of the horrors caused by nuclear weapons.
Nagasaki Day 2024: PM pledges 'nuclear-free' world
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated his pledge to pursue a nuclear-free world and noted the "widening division" in the international community over approaches to nuclear disarmament and Russia's nuclear threat. "Now is the time for us to continue with our passionate appeal to the world: Let Nagasaki be the last," he was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.
Mayor Shiro Suzuki, in a speech at Nagasaki Peace Park, called for nuclear weapon states and those under their nuclear umbrellas, including Japan, to abolish the weapons. “You must face up to the reality that the very existence of nuclear weapons poses an increasing threat to humankind, and you must make a brave shift toward the abolition of nuclear weapons,” Suzuki said.
He also warned that the world faces “a critical situation” because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and accelerating conflicts in the Middle East. Notably, the Ambassadors of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the EU were absent due to Israel's absence. Suzuki said his decision to exclude Israel was not political and that he feared "unforeseeable situations" due to the war in Gaza.
(with AP inputs)
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