Nagasaki and Hiroshima mark anniversary of WWII atomic bomb attacks

The Japanese city of Nagasaki marked 71 years since it was partially destroyed by a US atomic bomb during World War II on 9 August. A ceremony was held at the Peace Memorial Park, where Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe underscored the nation's nuclear non-proliferation stance.

"As the only country to be bombed by atomic bombs during wartime, I will strongly advocate the importance of maintaining and strengthening the stance of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, while maintaining the three non-nuclear principles," Abe said to the hundreds of people who attended the annual peace memorial. During the ceremony, city mayor, Tomihisa Taue called for other national leaders to follow in the footsteps of US President Barack Obama, who visited Hiroshima earlier this year. Obama became the first incumbent US president to visit Hiroshima since the attack, and he urged nuclear powers, including his own, to have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.

On 9 August 1945 the US military dropped an atomic bomb, nicknamed Fat Man, from a plane called Bockscar. The bomb weighed 4,500kg- 100kg larger than 'Little Boy' which was dropped on Hiroshima three days before. It killed between 39,000-80,000 people. Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, bringing the Second World War to an end.

On 6 August 2016, a peace bell tolled in Hiroshima at 8:15am local time – the exact same time that the American B-29 Superfortress bomber, Enola Gay, flown by pilot Colonel Paul Tibbets dropped the atomic bomb 'Little Boy' onto the city. About 50,000 participants including survivors and dignitaries held a moment of silence at a memorial ceremony in the western Japanese city. Once again, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged his determination to work toward a world free of nuclear arms.

"We must not have the tragic experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 71 years ago repeated. It is the responsibility of those of us who live in the present to keep on working without stopping, towards that aim," he said.

The nuclear attacks on both cities caused utter devastation among civilians. Between 90,000–146,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 39,000-80,000 in Nagasaki. Roughly half of the deaths in each city occurred instantly.