Photo taken on August 9, 1945 by Hiromichi Matsuda from the roof of the office of the then Kawanami Kōgyō shipyard, located in Kōyagi, Nagasaki
“Who could imagine that the world would become like this? Please stop the armed conflicts!” Asked the mayor of the port city. 74,000 people died three days after Hiroshima.
A minute of silence this Saturday in NagasakiAt 11:02 am, the time of the atomic explosion that hit the Japanese city 80 years ago, at a ceremony where the restored bell of a church rang for the first time since the attack in unison with its twin bell.
Em August 9, 1945, at 11:02 amthree days after the bombing of, Nagasaki also suffered the horror of a nuclear pump. About 74 thousand people died In this port city of southwest Japan, adding to the 140,000 victims of Hiroshima.
The United States launched the first nuclear attack in history about the city of August 6, 1945 and, three days later, launched a second atomic bomb Nagasakiwhich led to the surrender of Japan on August 15 and the end of World War II.
The implosion plutonium pump, with the name Fat Manthere was Nagasaki as plan B. The initial plan was to reach the kokura arsenal, but the weather conditions and mechanical problems did not allow it.
About 500 meters in altitude, two minutes after 11 am, Fat Man detonated a power equivalent to 21 kilotons – was 40% more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.
That industrial and important port of the western coast of Kyushu, Mitsubishi’s house, was destroyed, but the surrounding hills and the factories “absorbed” the largest damage and spared the city’s most central areas, although the disaster was devastating.
Virtually everything about 800 meters from the hypocenter was obliterated, with concrete structures and combustible materials on fire instantly up to three kilometers away.
About 40,000 people died soon, another 60,000 were injured. In January 1946, the number of dead should have reached 70,000 and, in the next five years, may have doubled due to the injuries and effects of radiation.
The next day, Emperor Hirohito overpassed military leaders and advanced to accept surrender, putting an end to World War II.
Japanese reactions
“80 years have passed, and who could imagine that the world would become like this? Please stop the armed conflicts immediately!”the mayor of the city, Shiro Suzuki, exhorted to a record audience of representatives from more than 100 countries.
“The confrontations intensify in various places. A crisis that can threaten humanity’s survival, like a nuclear war, hangs over all of us,” added the mayor.
The ceremony participated in the ceremony this year and “Hibakusha”, Or pump survivors, who urged the world to learn from the horrors suffered by Nagasaki, to ensure that they do not repeat.
“This existential crisis that humanity is going through is an imminent risk for each of us who inhabits the earth,” said Shiro Suzuki, in a “declaration for peace,” dealing during the ceremony, in which he warned of a world trapped in a “vicious circle of confrontation and fragmentation.”
Suzuki, a descendant of bomb survivors, urged the world leaders to define a concrete plan to achieve Abolition of nuclear weapons And he highlighted the global awareness work done by the Hibakusha Organization Nihon Hidankyo, awarded last year with the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Hibakusha doesn’t have much time,” said the mayor, referring to the increasing number and the advanced age of survivors. “Therefore, Nagasaki pledged to continue to publicize his message around the world, so that we are the last city in history to suffer atomic bombardment,” he added.
In the same line, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned “Growing Global Division” and for the “most severe security situation” 80 years after the city’s bombardment.
“Japan, as the only nation that has suffered nuclear attacks, is determined to maintain the three non -nuclear principles and lead efforts for a world free of atomic weapons,” said the leader, who added that Tokyo “will promote realistic and practical initiatives” in this regard.
Russia and Israel Gifts
Among the participants, this year attended the Russiawhich was not invited since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Israelwhose ambassador was also not invited last year for security reasons related to the conflict in Gaza.
The absence of Israeli representation last year caused the boycott of the ceremony by the ambassadors of other G7 countries.
Tokyo does not prohibit nuclear weapons
The ceremony took place at Nagasaki Peace Park, located next to the pump’s hypocenter of the explosion, which began with the observation of a minute of silence at 11:02 am (02h02 TMG), when the plutonium pump detonated.
Like his homologist in Hiroshima, three days ago, the Mayor of Nagasaki urged the Japanese government to sign the Treaty of Nuclear Weapons Prohibition of the United Nations (TPAN) And he urged him to opt for a security policy that does not depend on the nuclear deterrent of the United States.
Tokyo did not adhere to this treaty, since his full application would conflict with the national policy to depend on the nuclear shield of the ally of security, the United States.
