Tokyo Commemorates 80th Anniversary of WWII Air Raid

Tokyo, March 10 (NationPress) A memorial service took place on Monday at a park facility located in Tokyo's Sumida Ward, commemorating the 80th anniversary of a devastating air raid conducted by the United States during World War II.

Among the attendees were Japan's Crown Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko, who participated in the ceremony held at a site that houses the remains of numerous victims from this tragic event.

Approximately 160 individuals, including Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko and family members of the deceased, offered incense and prayed for the souls of the victims, according to reports from Kyodo News.

In a message delivered during the service, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated, "We must keep the memories and lessons of this horrific war in our hearts and pass them on to future generations."

In the early hours of March 10, 1945, US B-29 bombers unleashed incendiary bombs on various parts of Tokyo, targeting densely populated areas and resulting in the destruction of an estimated 270,000 residential buildings overnight.

As the war drew to a close, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan—"Little Boy" over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and "Fat Man" on Nagasaki three days later. Together, these bombings led to the immediate death of around 220,000 Japanese citizens, with over 200,000 additional deaths occurring later due to severe radiation exposure, as reported by the United Nations.

Being the only nation to have experienced atomic bombings, Japan has taken a leading role in global discussions on disarmament and non-proliferation, advocating for genuine changes while urging all nuclear-armed states to pursue nuclear disarmament and enhance transparency in their military arsenals.

Additionally, Japan is dedicated to strengthening and optimizing safeguards established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is pivotal in the nuclear non-proliferation framework. Concurrently, Japan contributes to international export control regimes and the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), which focuses on curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Earlier this month, Japanese lawmaker Shinji Morimoto addressed the meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, asserting, "Nuclear weapons and humanity cannot coexist." He emphasized during a panel discussion that individuals are still enduring the effects of radiation nearly 80 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.