Nagasaki mayor urges nuclear disarmament at UN

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki declared “humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist” as Japan marked 79 years since the U.S. atomic bombing, during a memorial service in Nagasaki Peace Park attended by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Tuesday’s ceremony commemorated the August 9, 1945 bombing that killed an estimated 70,000 people instantly and another 70,000 over time, ending World War II in Asia. This year’s turnout included survivors, known as hibakusha, whose average age now exceeds 85, intensifying fears that their warnings will fade once they are gone. Suzuki used the platform to urge world leaders to eliminate nuclear arsenals, saying deterrence theories have only entrenched global insecurity.

Japan sits at the center of the debate because it hosts U.S. nuclear weapons under a defense treaty, yet its constitution renounces war. Prime Minister Takaichi, a former defense minister from a conservative party that advocates revising the pacifist constitution, sat in silent prayer but did not speak publicly. Her presence underscored the tension between Japan’s official anti-nuclear stance and the quiet reliance on America’s nuclear umbrella for security.

The event came days after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin reiterated nuclear threats over Ukraine, raising the stakes for disarmament advocates. Next week, the United Nations will host a review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, where Japan is expected to call for progress toward a world without nuclear arms. Analysts say Suzuki’s blunt message is aimed at younger generations who have never lived under Cold War brinkmanship and may not grasp the urgency of abolition.