Tokyo [Japan], August 6 (ANI): Japan on Thursday marked the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, paying tribute to the victims of one of history's deadliest wartime attacks while renewing its call for a world free of nuclear weapons.

According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, the annual remembrance ceremony was held at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, where Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae joined representatives from a record 123 countries and regions to honour those who lost their lives in the bombing.

As part of the ceremony, an updated register of atomic bomb victims was placed inside the park's cenotaph. According to NHK, the list now contains the names of 353,639 people, including survivors who passed away over the past year. Participants also observed a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m., the exact time the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima marked a defining moment in the closing days of World War II. The United States dropped the uranium-based atomic bomb, codenamed 'Little Boy,' over the city, unleashing an explosion and intense heat that devastated Hiroshima. By the end of 1945, an estimated 140,000 people had died from the immediate blast, burns and radiation exposure.

Three days later, on August 9, the US dropped a second atomic bomb, 'Fat Man,' on Nagasaki. Japan announced its surrender on August 15, 1945, bringing World War II to an end.

According to NHK, many survivors, known as hibakusha, suffered lifelong health complications, including cancers and other radiation-related illnesses. As of the end of March this year, about 91,000 hibakusha were still alive in Japan, with an average age of 86.

NHK reported that while hibakusha have spent decades advocating the abolition of nuclear weapons, global security concerns have intensified. The expiry of the New START Treaty between the United States and Russia in February and the failure of the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to adopt a final document in May amid tensions in West Asia have raised fresh concerns over nuclear risks.

Against this backdrop, Hiroshima once again used the anniversary to urge the international community to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons and work towards lasting global peace, NHK reported. (ANI)