TOKYO (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the Japanese city held a minute of silence commemorating the 71st anniversary of the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.
"The Government of Japan, while advocating nuclear weapons abolition, still relies on nuclear deterrence. As a method to overcome this contradictory state of affairs, please enshrine the Three Non-Nuclear Principles in law, and create a ‘Northeast Asia Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone’ as a framework for security that does not rely on nuclear deterrence," Taue said, reading out loud the Nagasaki Peace Declaration during the ceremony.
In 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6 and 9 respectively. The bombing in Hiroshima killed about 150,000 people, and the raid on Nagasaki claimed the lives of some 70,000 people. The bombings, along with successful Soviet operation against the Kwantung Army, accelerated surrender of Japan, which put an end to the World War II.
