81st Hiroshima‑Nagasaki remembrance

On 4 August 2026 ceremonies across Japan and abroad marked the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings. In Hiroshima, the Korean Residents Union in Japan honored South‑Korean victims, with branch head Kim Ki‑sung stressing the need to pass on their history. U.S. ambassador George Glass did not attend, sending deputy Aaron Snipe in his place. Iranian parents of schoolboy Makan Nasiri, killed in a February airstrike, joined the ceremony, and Iran’s envoy Peyman Seadat condemned recent U.S.–Israeli attacks as a repeat of Hiroshima’s tragedy. European and U.S. events continued the nuclear‑abolition theme: the Italian Red Cross highlighted disarmament, a peace rally was held in Besançn, a candlelight vigil in Weiden warned of NATO missile deployments, and Wisconsin’s Peace Action staged a “Lanterns for Peace” gathering in Milwaukee.

On 5‑6 August, Hiroshima’s commemorations focused on peace symbolism. A violin crafted from survivor‑made materials was played on the Genryu River promenade, and crowds held penlights calling for nuclear disarmament. Kunihiko Sakuma of the survivors’ association urged that August 6 become a day of commitment to abolition. The National Democratic Party for the People, led by Yuichiro Tamaki, reiterated Japan’s “non‑nuclear three principles,” urged strengthening the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty, and linked the remembrance to ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.