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Hiroshima
Nagasaki is marking the US atomic bomb attack on the southern Japanese city 80 years ago and survivors of the attack are working to make their hometown the last place on earth hit by the bomb. Despite their pain from wounds, discrimination and illnesses from radiation, survivors have publicly committed to a shared goal of abolishing nuclear weapons. But recently they worry about the world moving in the opposite direction as the anniversary is commemorated on Saturday. The atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, killed some 70,000 people, three days after the bombing of Hiroshima killed 140,000. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending World War II and the country's nearly half-century of aggression across Asia. Aging survivors and their supporters in Nagasaki now put their hopes of achieving nuclear weapons abolition in the hands of younger people, telling them the attack is not distant history, but an issue that remains relevant to their ...
When the first atomic bomb detonated 80 years ago on August 6, thousands of the dead and dying were brought to the small, rural island of Ninoshima, just south of Hiroshima, by military boats with crews that had trained for suicide attack missions. Many of the victims had their clothes burned off and their flesh hung from their faces and limbs. They moaned in pain. Because of poor medicine and care, only a few hundred were alive when the field hospital closed on August 25, according to historical records. They were buried in various locations in chaotic and rushed operations. Decades later, people in the area are looking for the remains of the missing, driven by a desire to account for and honour the victims and bring relief to survivors who are still tormented by memories of missing loved ones. "Until that happens, the war is not over for these people," said Rebun Kayo, a Hiroshima University researcher who regularly visits Ninoshima to search for remains. Evidence of the missing
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed to step up his country's effort to defend a rules-based international order in a peace pledge made Thursday on the 79th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II. We will never again repeat the tragedy of war and will stick to the country's postwar pacifist resolve, he said at a solemn ceremony at the Budokan hall. In the world where tragic battles have persisted, Japan will continue its effort to maintain and strengthen the rules-based, free and open international order and endeavor to resolve difficult global issues, Kishida said. Kishida noted the more than 3 million Japanese killed, the destruction and the lives lost from bloody ground battles on Japan's southern island of Okinawa, fire-bombings across Japan, and the atomic attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. He did not mention or apologize for Japanese aggression across Asia or millions of lives lost there. The omission follows a precedent set by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Saturday and later unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima during his visit to the city to attend the annual summit of the G7 grouping and the third in-person Quad leaders' meeting. During Modi's meeting with the Japanese prime minister, the two leaders discussed ways to enhance India-Japan friendship across different sectors including trade, economy and culture. Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, in a tweet, said, "PM Narendra Modi and PM Fumio Kishida of Japan held warm and productive talks." "Discussed ways to synergise efforts of respective G-7 and G-20 Presidencies, and the need to highlight the voice of Global South. Also exchanged views on contemporary regional developments and on deepening cooperation in the Indo-Pacific," he said. "Leaders discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral Special Strategic and Global Partnership. Education, skill development, tourism,
World leaders landed in Hiroshima on Thursday for a Group of Seven meeting, the site of the world's first atomic bomb attack, with Russia's war in Ukraine expected to be high on the agenda. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida kicked off his summit diplomacy by meeting with US President Joe Biden after his arrival at a nearby military base. He was due to hold talks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a bit later in the day, before the three-day summit opens on Friday. The Japan-US alliance is the very foundation of peace and security in the Indo- Pacific region, Kishida told Biden in opening remarks. We very much welcome that the cooperation has evolved in leaps and bounds, he said. When our countries stand together we stand stronger and I believe the whole world is safer when we do," Biden said. The US president exited Air Force One in heavy rain and briefly greeted troops on arrival at the nearby Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. As G-7 attendees made their way to Hiroshi
Japan is providing a major US chipmaker a subsidy of up to 46.6 billion yen ($322 million) to support its plan to produce advanced memory chips at a Hiroshima factory, the Japanese trade minister said Friday. The announcement to subsidise Micron Technology comes on the heels of US Vice President Kamala Harris' visit in Japan as the two countries step up cooperation on expanding manufacturing and supply chains for critical materials. I hope the deal will contribute to further expansion of cooperation between Japan and the United States in the area of semiconductors, Japan's Economy and Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said. He said the government approved the deal Friday under a law related to economic security. During her trip to Asia this week, Harris met with Japanese officials and semiconductor company executives to seek greater cooperation in strengthening semiconductor development and production amid China's growing influence. Micron was among the companies that participate