Hiroshima survivor warns world is ignoring the nuclear threat today

The article commemorates the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, highlighting a solemn ceremony held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park attended by survivors, residents, and delegates from 120 countries. Hiroshima’s mayor, Kazumi Matsui, delivered a poignant appeal urging world leaders to abandon nuclear deterrence policies amid growing global conflicts, notably citing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East as contributing to a dangerous normalization of nuclear weapons. Matsui emphasized the threat that current nuclear posturing poses to the peace-building efforts established since World War II and called on younger generations to understand the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear warfare. Despite these challenges, he expressed hope that civil society could unite to abolish nuclear weapons and achieve lasting peace. The article also recounts the historical context of the Hiroshima bombing on August 6, 1945, when the U.S. dropped the uranium bomb “Little Boy,” instantly killing approximately 78,000 people and causing tens of thousands more deaths by year’s end. Along with