Record 120 countries, regions to attend Hiroshima A-bomb ceremony

A record 120 countries and regions, along with the European Union, plan to attend the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday, according to the city. While Russia is expected to again be absent this year, its close ally, Belarus, is set to attend for the first time in four years, the Hiroshima city government said, after the municipality effectively lifted the attendance ban on the two countries due to Moscow's war on Ukraine. Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said there was growing international awareness of his city's history, noting that a record-high 2.26 million people visited the city's museum documenting the devastation of the bombing during the previous fiscal year that ended March.