Nuclear Arsenals of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to Revive Campaign for Nuclear Weapons Elimination
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cities forever scarred by the atomic bombings of 1945, are marking the 80th anniversary with solemn initiatives and appeals for nuclear disarmament and dialogue among world leaders.
At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6, 2025, Mayor Kazumi Matsui led the proceedings, which included a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m., the exact time the bomb detonated. Matsui emphasized the critical importance of conveying the "ardent pleas for peace" derived from the experiences of hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors), urging everyone to focus less on themselves and more on others as a path to resolving conflict globally. He also appealed to expand global solidarity and promote chains of action toward a peaceful world.
In Nagasaki, Mayor Shiro Suzuki spoke at the Mayors for Peace general conference held from August 8, 2025, underscoring learning from diverse city efforts for peace and seeking new collaborative possibilities among cities worldwide. He emphasized the organization’s goal — to abolish nuclear weapons through global cooperation — backed by its membership of over 8,500 cities in 166 countries.
During his speech at the Hiroshima ceremony on August 9, Matsui will call on leaders to immediately begin discussing a security framework based on trust through dialogue. He will warn that more world leaders are thinking that nuclear weapons are essential for national defense, a sentiment he strongly opposes.
Suzuki, in his speech at the Nagasaki ceremony on August 9, will express concern about the threat of nuclear war and call for a concrete path toward abolishing nuclear weapons. He will also urge world leaders to stop wars immediately.
The mayors' speeches will include the experiences of hibakusha, serving as a powerful reminder of the devastating human cost of nuclear weapons. Both leaders will renew their push to abolish nuclear weapons next week, emphasizing the need for sustained dialogue and action among world leaders to prevent future nuclear conflict.
The ceremonies and speeches reinforce the mayors' calls for the global community to honor the survivors’ testimony as a "moral force for peace," pushing for eradication of nuclear weapons so the message and memory of the hibakusha endure. Together, these initiatives and messages center on remembrance, honoring survivors, and a unified appeal from Hiroshima and Nagasaki — and the worldwide cities represented in Mayors for Peace — for nuclear disarmament coupled with international dialogue to build global peace.
In line with the Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversaries, Mayor Kazumi Matsui and Mayor Shiro Suzuki will deliver speeches that underscore the critical importance of global nuclear disarmament and dialogue among world leaders. They will also emphasize the need for learning from the experiences of the hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) to prevent future nuclear conflict and express concern about the threat of nuclear war. Both leaders will urge world leaders to take immediate actions, condemning the increasing sentiment that nuclear weapons are essential for national defense.
