A-bomb Day in Hiroshima
8/6/00 
On the 6th, the first city in history to
suffer an atomic bombing will observe the
55th anniversary of "A-bomb Day."
This century's final city-sponsored Peace
Memorial Ceremony will begin at 8:00 am in
Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima
City. Representatives of survivors and bereaved
families and others will mourn the more than
217,000 victims of the bombing and renew
their pledge to work for the abolition of
nuclear weapons and enduring peace.
At the ceremony, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and
two representatives of bereaved families
will dedicate the list of the A-bomb deceased
to the A-bomb Memorial Cenotaph. The 5,021
names dedicated this year represent persons
who died over the past year or persons whose
A-bomb-related deaths have been newly confirmed.
The number has exceeded 5,000 for two consecutive
years. The total number of registered names
has climbed to 217,137, now listed in a total
of 75 volumes.
Representatives of the bereaved families
and survivors gathered here from 43 prefectures
will offer flowers to the cenotaph. They
will be followed by Prime Minister Yoshiro
Mori, Speaker of the House of Representatives
Tamisuke Wataniki, President of the House
of Councilors Juro Saito, Yuji Tsushima,
Minister of Health and Welfare, and others.
Algerian Ambassor to the UN Abdallah Baali,
who recently presided over the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, will also
present flowers.
At precisely 8:15 am, Taiko Ozu (31) of Minami
Ward, Hiroshima, (representing the bereaved
families) and Asami Yano (11), a sixth grade
student at Shiya Elementary School (representing
the children) will ring the Peace Bell, signaling
the start of one minute of silent prayer.
Temple bells and sirens around the city will
form a chorus accompanying prayers for the
peaceful repose of the victims.
Then, Mayor Akiba will deliver the Peace
Declaration. The mayor will express Hiroshima's
resolve to take the lead in reconciling science
and technology with human purposes and in
helping parties in international disputes
reach amicable settlements. Both are new
aspects of Hiroshima's effort toward the
cherished goal of abolishing nuclear weapons
in the 21st century. Following the Peace
Declaration, a sixth grade boy and girl in
elementary school will read a Commitment
to Peace. Prime Minister Mori, the Speaker
of the House of Representatives, the President
of the House of Councilors and two other
persons will also speak.
Russian Ambassador Aleksandor Panov will
be present, the first time any ambassador
to Japan from a nuclear weapon state has
attended the ceremony.
At 8:15 pm on the same day, Mayor Akiba will
follow the precedent he set last year in
delivering the Peace Declaration in English
near the A-bomb Dome. Then, the Peace Messages
sent at Hiroshima's request by leaders of
the four countries of Paraguay, Malawi, Bangladesh,
and the Czech Republic will be read by their
respective ambassadors to Japan. This event
will be transmitted to the world over the
Internet in real time.
[Caption] The lighted A-bomb Dome floats dramatically
in the darkness. It will continue in the
new century to play a significant role in
communicating the tragedy of nuclear weapons.
(August 5, 8:40 pm; Naka Ward, Hiroshima)
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