On the 15th, the 77th anniversary of the end of the war, A-bomb survivors and high school students held a gathering to ring the "peace bell" at Peace Park in Hiroshima City, wishing for a world without nuclear weapons.
At Peace Park in Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, the Hiroshima UNESCO Association holds a gathering to ring the "peace bell" every year on the day the war ended. About 70 people, including A-bomb survivors and high school students, participated.
First, Sara Arakawa, a high school student peace ambassador for this year and a third-year student at Hiroshima Kokutaiji High School, gave a speech, saying, ``I often hear about nuclear deterrence and nuclear sharing due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but the idea of having a nuclear weapon. This means that the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki may be repeated. Now is the time for us, as a country that has suffered atomic bombings, to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons."
After this, the participants offered a moment of silence for the victims of war and atomic bombings, and then rang the "Peace Bell", which depicts a world map without borders, symbolizing that the world is one.
Minoru Hataguchi, 76, the former director of the Atomic Bomb Museum, who was exposed to the atomic bombing in his mother's womb, said, "I think Russia knows what will happen if we push the nuclear button, so we will never push the nuclear button. I hope so,' he said.