Hiroshima victims remembered amid growing anti-nuclear concerns

Sixty-seven years on, Japan has been remembering the victims of the world’s first atomic bomb attack.

Around 50 thousand people attended an annual ceremony in Hiroshima’s peace park, near the epicentre of the 1945 blast that destroyed most of the city and killed as many as 140 thousand people.

The anniversary comes amid growing anti-nuclear sentiment, in the wake of last year’s meltdown at the Fukushima power plant.

“With our best efforts, we will help regain people’s livelihoods, those who continue to suffer from the Fukishima accident. We will work on decontamination and reconstruction in the region,” said Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

“We will also work towards establishing a mid to long-term plan to reduce dependence on nuclear energy, so that people can live with safe sources of energy,” he continued.

The accident at Fukushima, triggered by a tsunami and earthquake, has shown the dangers of nuclear technology – even for peaceful purposes.

Public safety concerns in Japan have left all but two of 50 working reactors offline.

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