The 80th anniversary of Hiroshima

Yesterday, (8/6/25), the Japanese honored the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima. It took place at the Peace Memorial Park. They do this to honor the victims, educate future generations, and advocate for a world free from those weapons.

Hiroshima is where the U.S bombed Japan with atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The U.S did this to force Japan into surrendering. It worked, as Japan surrendered 6 days after the 2nd bombing. Though the bombs did deadly numbers, over 240,000 Japanese had died.

Some survivors of the bombing remember horrific details. 96-year-old Junji Sarashina recalls many places, and thousands of people just trying to escape the fire. He went to the Red Cross, and tried to give the first kid water, but they were gone.

Another survivor, Toshiyuki Mimaki, was 3 when the bombs happened. He has spent decades of his life campaigning against these types of weapons. He stated, “I want people all over the world to know that nuclear weapons and humanity cannot co-exist.”

This quote was read again at the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima, which they both attended.

“The divisions within the international community over nuclear disarmament are deepening, and the current security environment is growing increasingly severe,” said Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba

“We don’t have much time left, while we face greater nuclear threat than ever,” Nihon Hidankyo, said in a statement ahead of the ceremony.

Now, the U.S and Japan are neutrally close, with the U.S actually having 50,000 stationed in Japan, and in 8 years, have rarely shot at Japan in anger.

But the times are changing..

The Japanese constitution, during the U.S. occupation, renounced war as a means of settling disputes.

Japan hasn’t thought much about that, but the space around it has changed. Topics that were politically untouchable a decade ago are now freely debated in Japan.

Conflicts no longer seem regional but interconnected. North Korea, now a front-line participant in the war in Ukraine, continues to launch missiles in defiance of sanctions. China tests boundaries and dares others to push back.

In recent years, Japan has asserted itself more openly. They sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait in 2024. They also dispatched a prime minister to Ukraine for face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2023. The first time a Japanese prime minister has visited an active combat zone since World War II.

Earlier this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Tokyo, where, according to Reuters, the two sides agreed to accelerate co-production of missile systems.

Japan also pledged to expand joint operations and upgrade its Self-Defense Forces’ command structure to better align with U.S. forces.

“The scariest thing that might happen in the future is to forget what happened a long time ago,” Sasaki said (12 year old guide)