Japan marks 64th anniversary of Nagasaki bombing

Nagasaki, Aug 9: Thousands of people in Japan gathered in the Peace Park in Nagasaki to mark the 64th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of the southwestern Japanese city that killed nearly 74,000 people.

Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue, at the memorial ceremony on Saturday, Aug 9 read the Peace Declaration and called for worldwide nuclear disarmament and enhanced measures for nuclear non-proliferation.

Prasing Barack Obama's statement on a world without nuclear weapons Taue said, "...The government of Japan, a nation that has experienced nuclear devastation, must play a leading role in international society."

He also said, "In a bid for thorough elimination of nuclear armaments, we urge the strongest efforts towards the Nuclear Weapons Convention, which the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon last year called on governments to negotiate actively."

On this occasion, Prime Minister Taro Aso reaffirmed Japan's three principles of not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on its soil.

OneIndia News