Hiroshima day: Japan marks 75th year of the atomic destruction

New Delhi, Aug 06: Seventy-five years ago, in 1945, on this day, US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The devastation led to Japan's unconditional surrender which brought an end to World War II.

A large number of people continues to die months after the incident by the effects of the atomic bombing.

In memory of those who lost their lives on the day, August 6 is marked yearly as Hiroshima Day.

Little Boy

A modified B-29 dropped a uranium gun-type bomb, named "Little Boy", on Hiroshima with the consent of the British.

When no immediate surrender came from Japan, another bomb, dubbed "Fat Man", was dropped three days later over Nagasaki.

The two bombings killed between 1,29,000 and 2,26,000 people and levelled the cities to the ground.

The destruction

It was reported that some 70,000 to 80,000 people were killed immediately following the blast in Hiroshima.

More people lost their lives in both the cities due to the effects of the bombings following months and years.

The country went through massive structural destruction as according to the Japanese official report that around 69 per cent of the buildings in Hiroshima were destroyed that day.

Reinventing

Japanese nationals even years later suffered health problems from being exposed to the high level of radiation.

Hiroshima tried to reinvent itself as a City of Peace and continues to promote nuclear disarmament around the world till today.

Japan today

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the mayor of Hiroshima, early on Thursday, joined bomb survivors and descendants in the city's Peace Park.

The park is usually filled with thousands of people for the anniversary, but due to the COVID pandemic attendance was significantly reduced this year, with chairs placed at a distance and most attendees wearing masks.