Interfaith Leaders Gather in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for 81st Atomic Bomb Memorials, Issuing Urgently Renewed Call for Nuclear Abolition
HIROSHIMA and NAGASAKI — As the world commemorates 81 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, interreligious leaders, delegates, and citizens gathered across both cities to honor the victims and amplify the urgent demand for total nuclear disarmament.
The observances commenced on August 6 in Hiroshima. That morning at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, an interfaith memorial prayer was offered by the Hiroshima Prefectural Religion Federation, bringing together Shinto, Buddhist, and Christian leaders in joint remembrance.
During the official Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, Mayor Kazumi Matsui delivered a forceful address directed at international political leadership:
“Policymakers of the world, civil society demands the immediate abolition of nuclear weapons. How much longer do you intend to disappoint us? Leaders of nuclear-weapon states, you bear primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament. You must surely recognize the imperative to lead by example.”
Representing the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace (ACRP), Secretary General Rev. Dr. Yoshinori Shinohara attended the Hiroshima commemorations, joining religious leaders and citizens in honoring the victims and standing in solidarity with calls for immediate disarmament.
The observances continued in Nagasaki on the evening of August 8 with the 54th Memorial Service for the Victims of the Atomic Bombing, organized by the Nagasaki Interreligious Fellowship for Peace at Nagasaki University. Offerings included a poignant memorial address by Rev. Yoshiharu Tomatsu, Chair of WCRP/Religions for Peace Japan, who pledged:
“We will never allow the events of Nagasaki and Hiroshima to fade from memory. We will inherit the earnest wish of the hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors)—’No more hibakusha’ and ‘Let Nagasaki be the last site of an atomic bombing’—and continue walking forward to realize this goal.”
On August 9, Rev. Dr. Shinohara represented ACRP at the official 81st Nagasaki Peace Ceremony, hosted by the City of Nagasaki at Peace Park.
Nuclear weapons sacrificed hundreds of thousands of lives in 1945 and continue to inflict severe suffering on hibakusha through the lingering physical and psychological effects of radiation. As global risks surrounding nuclear usage rapidly escalate, ACRP emphasized that active, united engagement by religious communities worldwide is crucial to ensure these tragedies are never repeated.
Standing in solemn prayer across both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ACRP reaffirmed its determination to convey the tragic reality of nuclear warfare across Asia and the globe, while strengthening solidarity to urge world leaders toward the swift and total abolition of nuclear weapons.
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