Overview

• At 11:02 a.m. on August 9, twin bells at Urakami Cathedral rang together for the first time since the 1945 bombing.
• The ceremony featured prayer, dove releases and survivor testimonies at Peace Memorial Park and Hypocenter Park.
• Mayor Shiro Suzuki described the present global tensions as a human survival crisis and urged leaders to commit to nuclear abolition.
• Delegations from 95 countries and territories, including the United States, Israel and Russia, attended the milestone commemoration.
• The number of surviving hibakusha has fallen to about 99,130 with an average age above 86, underscoring efforts to preserve their testimonies.