Citizens Remember Nagasaki A-Bomb Victims, Pray for Peace

Nagasaki, Aug. 9 (Jiji Press)–Many people gathered at a park in the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki on Sunday to mourn the victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city exactly 81 years ago, wish for the abolition of nuclear weapons and pray for lasting peace. High school students who serve as peace ambassadors and work on a campaign to collect signatures for nuclear abolition held a rally at the park. About 100 people, including students and others, joined hands to form a human chain around a ground zero monument, wishing for the realization of a world without nuclear arms. “Taking seriously the earnest desire that war should never happen again, we have a responsibility to pass it on to the next generation,” Miori Nakayama, 17, a third-year high school student, said on behalf of the participants. “I want to send a message that the tragedy 81 years ago must never be repeated,” participant Ayane Nakao, 16, a second-year student at high school, said. Her great-grandparent was exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, in the closing days of World War II. “I want to create peace education in which people can think about how we can realize peace,” said 25-year-old graduate school student Sawa Yamanishi, whose grandmother was exposed to the atomic bomb at a location about 3.5 kilometers from the hypocenter. On Sunday night, a lantern event called “Mantonagashi” was held to pay tribute to the atomic bomb victims. Elementary and junior high school students from the city lit about 1,000 lanterns with words such as “love and peace” written on their sides. The lanterns were floated on a river near the park or placed along the riverside. “I floated lanterns on the river, thinking that we must protect peace for the future of our children,” said Mitsuko Honda, 58, whose parent was exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]