Japan marks 72nd anniversary of Hiroshima bombing with sombre ceremony

Charlotte Krol
Updated

Japan marked the 72nd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Sunday with prime minister Shinzo Abe renewing calls for a move toward world free of nuclear weapons.

The US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the final days of World War II.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech during 72nd anniversary memorial service for the atomic bomb victims at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima - Credit: AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS / STR
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech during 72nd anniversary memorial service for the atomic bomb victims at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima Credit: AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS / STR

The city marked the anniversary of the August 6, 1945 attack that killed 140,000 people with a somber ceremony on Sunday.

A minute of silence was held to remember the dead and a call to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui urged that the "absolute evil" of atomic weaponry be banished.