Tokyo [Japan], August 6 (ANI): India's Ambassador to Japan, Nagma Mallick, paid floral tributes to the victims of the atomic bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Thursday, marking the 81st anniversary of the tragedy.

The Indian diplomat joined the diplomatic community in Japan at a reception organised for attendees of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, where she interacted with Hiroshima Governor Mika Yokota and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui.

In a separate solemn ceremony, Ambassador Mallick, accompanied by Mayor Matsui, Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly Chairman Takashi Nakamoto, and Hiroshima Japan-India Association President Kazuhisa Matsumoto, laid a wreath at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

Sharing details of the event on X, the Indian Embassy in Japan stated, 'Ambassador's Visit to Hiroshima. Ambassador Mallick, together with Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly Chairman Takashi Nakamoto, and Hiroshima Japan-India Association President Kazuhisa Matsumoto, laid a wreath at the statue of Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi). We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all members of the Indian community in Japan who participated, and to everyone who supports India.'

https://x.com/IndianEmbTokyo/status/2085161048639000817?s=20

The commemorative events took place on the anniversary of August 6, 1945, when the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a uranium bomb over Hiroshima during the closing stages of the Second World War, causing an estimated 140,000 fatalities by the end of that year.

Addressing the gathering during the annual memorial service, Hiroshima Mayor Matsui issued a stern call to global powers regarding nuclear non-proliferation.

Reading out the Peace Declaration, Mayor Matsui said, 'Downplaying the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and accepting the use of force to pursue one's own prosperity risks cycles of violent retaliation that could ultimately result in another Hiroshima or Nagasaki.'

Japan's Kyodo News reported that the city of Hiroshima pressed the international community for the total elimination of nuclear armaments, criticising their deployment as 'tools of intimidation' in armed conflict and highlighting how 'imperious actions by major powers' breach international law.

A solemn silence was observed across the city at 8:15 am (local time), marking the precise moment the nuclear bomb was detonated over Hiroshima 81 years ago, Kyodo News added.

According to the Japanese news agency, nearly 50,000 attendees gathered at the Peace Memorial Park to honour the deceased, with official delegations from 121 nations and the European Union taking part in the solemn proceedings. (ANI)