Overview

• Delegations from 120 countries—including nuclear-armed states and first-time participants like Taiwan—gathered at the Peace Memorial Park to honor the victims of the 1945 bombing
• Officially recognized hibakusha have fallen below 100,000 with an average age of 86, and Nihon Hidankyo’s Nobel Peace Prize in 2024 highlighted their advocacy for a world free of nuclear weapons
• Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned that the “immense catastrophe” of the bombings must never be forgotten by new generations to prevent future conflict
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned that the risk of nuclear conflict is steadily rising and called for renewed disarmament efforts
• Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui urged the government to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as an observer and foster peace education among youth