At a time when the world is once again shrouded in nuclear fear, it is more important than ever to reaffirm a simple truth: Weapons capable of destroying humanity must never be used again.
Eighty years have passed since the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final days of World War II. On Aug. 6 in Hiroshima and Aug. 9 in Nagasaki, prayers for the victims will be offered once more.
At ground zero in both cities, intense heat incinerated people and the blast flattened buildings. By the end of 1945, about 210,000 lives had been lost to the attacks.
Radiation continued to ravage survivors' bodies. The death toll has since surpassed 500,000 as more victims succumbed over the years. Even today, some who fell ill are still not officially recognized as atomic bomb survivors. The suffering is far from a thing of the past.
Rising risk of nuclear use
"Everyone's lives were taken like insects. It was worse than hell," said Michiko Hattori, now 96.
Hattori was a 16-year-old nurse apprentice in Hiroshima when she witnessed the horror of the A-bomb firsthand. She worked at a military medical unit near the blast center, tending to the wounded. She recalls people with swollen faces from severe burns, others with skin hanging from their hands. Medical supplies were scarce, and many died in agony.
Determined to pass on her experience, Hattori has spent nearly half a century as a storyteller. "I hope for true peace where there is no need to talk about the atomic bomb experience," she says.
Hattori feels more people are listening intently now. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum has set new attendance records for two consecutive years, with many foreign visitors. Interest is clearly growing.
Russia's nuclear threats since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine have been a turning point. For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the risk of nuclear war has become real again, and people driven by anxiety are perhaps seeking to learn about the realities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Since the Ukraine war began, nuclear-armed states have repeatedly engaged in provocative military actions. Tensions are escalating.
Russia has deployed nuclear weapons to neighboring Belarus and signaled its willingness to use them. The United States has strongly condemned this and warned of possible retaliation.
An Israeli Cabinet minister has threatened a nuclear attack against Hamas. India fired a missile near Pakistan's nuclear command center.
North Korea, developing new nuclear weapons, has declared a policy of "preemptive nuclear use." The U.S. bombed Iran, which possesses weapons-grade enriched uranium.
A growing concern is that worsening security environments are fueling a "nuclear for nuclear" approach.
In Europe, discussion has begun on establishing a new "nuclear sharing" system for joint management and operation of nuclear weapons led by France.
In the Middle East, there are warnings that Arab states hostile to Iran may pursue nuclear development. In East Asia, more South Koreans are supporting nuclear armament.
Even Japan, which holds to its Three Non-Nuclear Principles, is not immune. After Russia's invasion, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the idea of nuclear sharing with the U.S., sparking controversy. In the upper house election this past July, some candidates openly advocated for nuclear armament.
If more countries come to rely on nuclear weapons, the current nonproliferation regime will collapse. International order will become even more chaotic, and it is inevitable that the world will be a far more dangerous place.
Passing on memories, building peace
The lessons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are not to preserve nuclear weapons by relying on their mighty power, but to imagine the devastation they cause and work for their abolition.
The number of nuclear warheads has fallen from some 70,000 at the height of the Cold War to about 12,000 today. Fear of nuclear war drove disarmament. How can we break the cycle of unchecked arms races driven by nuclear deterrence and change the course of history once again?
Nuclear weapons have become morally unusable. This is the "nuclear taboo" advanced by American political scientist Nina Tannenwald. She argues that leaders' fear of catastrophic humanitarian consequences has led them to refrain from using nuclear weapons, and that this restraint has helped avert nuclear war.
The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, reportedly receives requests from around the world to send atomic bomb storytellers. We must continue to pass on the memory of the tragedy and uphold the "nuclear taboo."
Next year will be a milestone for nuclear disarmament. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the U.S. and Russia will expire, and meetings on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons are scheduled.
How can humanity chart a path to a world without nuclear weapons? Japan must take the lead in global discussions to pull the world back from the brink of nuclear war.