Nagasaki marks 80 years since U.S. atomic bombing as survivors place hopes of nuclear ban in hands of youth

NAGASAKI, Japan (AP) — The southern Japanese city of Nagasaki on Saturday marked 80 years since the U.S. atomic attack that killed tens of thousands and left survivors who hope their harrowing memories can help make their hometown the last place on Earth to be hit by a nuclear bomb. In Ishiba’s speech, the prime minister reiterated Japan’s pursuit of a nuclear-free world, pledging to promote dialogue and cooperation between countries with nuclear weapons and nonnuclear states at the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons review conference scheduled for April and May 2026 in New York. “Countries must move from words to action by strengthening the global disarmament regime,” with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, at the center, complemented by the momentum created by the nuclear weapons ban treaty, said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, in his message read by Under-Secretary-General Izumi Nakamitsu in Nagasaki.

Author: Mayuko Ono, Associated Pres, Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press

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