66th anniversary of A-bombing (Japan)

[AsahinaKimi]

Visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park observe a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 6, the exact moment that the atomic bomb struck the city in 1945. In the background is the Atomic Bomb Dome. (Takaharu Yagi

HIROSHIMA--Hiroshima marked the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city with a plea for world peace and an urgent call for Japan to review its energy policies.

In a ceremony held on Aug. 6 at Peace Memorial Park in the city's Naka Ward, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, who assumed the post in April this year, read the Peace Declaration.

The declaration for the first time included the experiences of two atomic-bomb survivors, or hibakusha, who were selected from among applicants.

Their stories described how the atomic bombing destroyed people's lives that had been relatively normal despite the war.

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http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201108060172.html

Kan vows nuclear-free future for Japan on 66th anniv of Hiroshima atomic bombing
HIROSHIMA —

A ceremony on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing was dominated by national soul-searching on atomic power as Japan’s prime minister pledged a nuclear-free future.

Marking the 66th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing at an annual event usually devoted to opposing nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the ongoing Fukushima crisis meant Japan must turn to other energy sources.

“The large-scale, long-running nuclear accident has triggered radiation leakage, causing serious concerns not only in Japan but also in the world,” Kan, in black suit and tie, said at a memorial ceremony in Hiroshima’s Peace Park.

“I will reduce Japan’s reliance on nuclear power, aiming at creating a society that will not rely on atomic power generation,” he added.

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http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/kan-vows-nuclear-free-future-for-japan-on-66th-anniv-of-hiroshima-atomic-bombing


Hiroshima Peace Declaration

Sixty-six years ago, despite the war, the people of Hiroshima were leading fairly normal lives. Until that fateful moment, many families were enjoying life together right here in what is now Peace Memorial Park and was then one of the city's most prosperous districts. A man who was thirteen at the time shares this: "August fifth was a Sunday, and for me, a second-year student in middle school, the first full day off in a very long time. I asked a good friend from school to come with me, and we went on down to the river. Forgetting all about the time, we stayed until twilight, swimming and playing on the sandy riverbed. That hot mid-summer's day was the last time I ever saw him."

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http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110806p2a00m0na006000c.html

A-bomb survivor in Fukushima likens nuclear plants to nuclear bombs
FUKUSHIMA -- On the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, survivors in Fukushima Prefecture -- home to the disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant -- have a unique perspective. One of those survivors is Akira Yamada, 85, the chair of the prefecture's A-bomb survivors' association.

"Who would think we would be threatened by radiation twice in our lives? I had never thought about nuclear power on Aug. 6 until now. This year is different, though. We have to think not only about why the nuclear bomb was dropped, but why we built nuclear power plants," he says.

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http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110806p2a00m0na024000c.html