A pedestrian walks past the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on Aug 4, 2025 as Japan will mark 80th anniversary of the WWII US atomic bombing on Aug 6. - Photo: AP Photo / Louise Delmotte
HIROSHIMA (JAPAN): Palestine and Taiwan will attend the Hiroshima memorial ceremony for the first time, joining an unprecedented 120 countries and regions marking the 80th anniversary of the United States (US) atomic bombing, Kyodo news agency reported quoting the city government.
Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui said the growing turnout reflects increasing global awareness of the city's message.
"As the first city to experience nuclear devastation...we aim to share globally 'the spirit of Hiroshima' that hopes for the realisation of true peace," he said in a written interview with Kyodo News.
The European Union (EU) will also take part, while Belarus will return for the first time in four years after the city lifted its attendance ban on Russia and Belarus due to the Ukraine war. However, Russia remains absent this year.
Among nuclear-armed states, the US, Britain and France are expected to send representatives.
India, a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and Israel will also attend.
China, Pakistan and North Korea have no plans to participate.
The city switched from sending formal invitations to merely notifying countries and regions, following last year's controversy over Israel's attendance amid its war in Gaza.
Last year's ceremony saw the participation of 111 countries and the EU.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum welcomed a record 2.26 million visitors in the last fiscal year.
Nagasaki, bombed three days later on Aug 9, 1945, is also expecting record attendance from over 100 countries and regions during its memorial ceremony on Saturday.
The city extended invitations to all diplomatic missions and accepted a request from Taiwan to attend for the first time.
"I hope that by witnessing the reality of the atomic bombing firsthand, (attendees) will feel the inhumane consequences of using nuclear weapons," said Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki.
The twin bombings killed over 210,000 people by the end of 1945, prompting Japan's surrender six days after Nagasaki was attacked and ending World War II. - Bernama-Kyodo
