Hiroshima marks 70 years since atomic bomb

Japan on Thursday marked 70 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, an attack that helped end World War II but remains controversial to this day.

Bells tolled as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and foreign dignitaries, along with tens of thousands of other people, gathered in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park to observe a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m. local time (2315 UTC), the moment the atomic bomb was detonated, largely destroying the city.

Abe laid a wreath and said that Japan, as the sole country to face a nuclear attack, has the duty to push for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The anniversary is taking place as Abe attempts to pass unpopular legislation to expand the country's international military role.

"As the only country ever attacked by an atomic bomb...we have a mission to create a world without nuclear arms," Abe said in a speech at the commemoration. "We have been tasked with conveying the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, across generations and borders."

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said nuclear weapons were an "absolute evil" and urged the international community to abolish them forever.

"To coexist we must abolish the absolute evil and ultimate inhumanity that are nuclear weapons. Now is the time to start taking action," Matsui said.

Abe said his country would submit a new resolution to abolish nuclear arms at this year's upcoming general assembly.

Ending the war

On August 6, 1945, an American bomber named the "Enola Gay" dropped the bomb dubbed "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, incinerating a large portion of the city in temperatures hot enough to melt steel.

Nearly 140,000 people were killed in the attack, including those who initially survived the bombing but died later from radiation poisoning. The port city of Nagasaki was attacked with an atomic bomb on August 9, killing more than 70,000.

Japan surrendered several days later on August 15, 1945, ending the bloodiest war in human history.

Historians remain divided over whether the attacks were necessary. Some argue they prevented many more casualties in a planned land invasion, while others say Japan's defeat was already imminent and the bombings were unjustified.

The decision to drop the bomb was highly popular with Americans at the time, who were weary from years of war. To this day a majority still believe it was the right decision.

According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center in February, 56 percent of Americans said their nation was justified in using the atomic bomb against Japan, compared to 79 percent of Japanese respondents who said it was unjustified.

bw/cmk (AP, AFP, Reuters)