Memorial Ceremony for Nuclear Bombing Victims Begins in Hiroshima

A memorial ceremony for nuclear bombing victims began in the Peace Park in Hiroshima, the city that was the first in the world to experience the horror of the use of nuclear weapons, on the 79th anniversary of the tragedy.

The ceremony is traditionally broadcast live on the city hall website as well as on major TV channels and on the Internet. It begins at 8:00 (23:00 GMT on Monday) with the laying of lists of those killed in the atomic bombing and its consequences at the monument. This year, another 5,079 names were added to the list of 344,000.

The Peace Park, where the ceremony is held annually, is located in the epicenter of the bombing on August 6, 1945 where the force of the bomb vaporized the bodies of its victims.