Hiroshima Day: Japan remembers World War 2 tragedy on its 77th anniversary

At 8.15 am on August 6, 1945, the US B-29 warplane Enola Gay dropped a bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” and obliterated Hiroshima with an estimated population of 350,000. Thousands more died later from injuries and radiation-related illnesses.

August 6, 2022 12:05 IST

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Saturday marked the 77th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombings, as cicadas shrilled in the heavy summer air, the Peace Bell sounded and the crowd, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is from Hiroshima, observed a moment of silence at the exact time the bomb exploded. (Photo: Kyodo via Reuters)

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Kishida, who has chosen Hiroshima as the site of next year’s Group of Seven summit, called on the world to abandon nuclear weapons. (Photo: Kyodo via Reuters)

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At 8.15 am on August 6, 1945, the US B-29 warplane Enola Gay dropped a bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” and obliterated Hiroshima with an estimated population of 350,000. Thousands more died later from injuries and radiation-related illnesses. (Photo: Kyodo via Reuters)

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The Hiroshima catastrophe was followed by the US military’s atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, instantly killing more than 75,000 people. Japan surrendered six days later, ending World War Two. (Photo: Kyodo via Reuters)

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres joined the thousands packed into the Peace Park in the centre of the city to mark the anniversary, only the second time a UN Secretary-General has taken part in the annual ceremony. (Photo: Kyodo via Reuters)

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On Thursday, Russian ambassador to Japan Mikhail Galuzin offered flowers at a memorial stone in the park and told reporters his nation would never use nuclear weapons. (Photo: Kyodo via Reuters)