Nagasaki marks 67th atomic bomb anniversary

OSAKA - Nagasaki marked the 67th anniversary of the western Japanese city's atomic bombing on Thursday, with US Ambassador to Japan was in attendance, calling for a world free of threats from radiation, local press reported.

The peace memorial ceremony, held at the city's Peace Park, was attended by survivors, bereaved family members and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to commemorate the nearly 160,000 victims killed by the attack. ?

Representatives from more than 40 countries joined the bereaved family members and survivors to participate in the ceremony, among them being US Ambassador John Roos, who attended the Nagasaki event for the first time. ?

A silent prayer was offered to the deceased at 11:02 am local time, the exact time the atomic bomb was dropped on the city. ?

Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue made a speech at the ceremony, urging the Japanese government to take proper initiatives that would stop any and all nuclear weapons-related activities in the international community, from their development to deployment, so that Nagasaki will become the last place ever attacked with a nuclear weapon. ?

He also referred to last year's nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant in his peace declaration, appealing to the government to formulate a new energy policy in order to rebuild Japanese society so that it will never be threatened by the harmful effects of radiation and to take concrete measures to replace nuclear power with renewable energy sources. ? ?

A series of seminars and meetings with themes on the peaceful utilization of atomic power are expected to continue in the city until the evening hours, the report said.