Hiroshima marked the 81st anniversary of the US atomic bombing on Thursday in the western Japanese city, with Mayor Kazumi Matsui urging major powers to stop justifying nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence. At a ceremony in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, a minute of silence was observed at 8:15 a.m., the time a US B-29 aircraft dropped the bomb, as a peace bell rang.

The bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, nearly destroyed the city and killed about 140,000 people. A second bombing of Nagasaki three days later killed about 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II.

Matsui said downplaying the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and using force for prosperity risked creating a cycle of retaliation that could end in another Hiroshima or Nagasaki. About 50,000 people and representatives from nearly 120 countries and regions, including the United States and Iran, were expected to attend. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she would pursue a realistic approach within the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty framework toward a world in which nuclear weapons are never used.