Seventy-one years later, amidst the searing August heat, ceremonies were held to pray for the repose of souls lost in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and to commemorate the end of the war on August 15. Prime Minister and LDP President Shinzo Abe offered condolences to the victims and prayed for world peace in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and also attended the National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead in Tokyo. On the anniversary of the end of the war, the LDP published a "Party Declaration" (separate article) expressing its resolve to contribute to world peace and prosperity and never again to engage in acts of war.
On August 6, on the day of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945- only months after US President Obama's first visit to Hiroshima in May - Prime Minister Abe attended the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony together with approximately 50,000 atomic bomb survivors and families of victims.
At the ceremony, he discussed how the president of the only country in the world to have used nuclear weapons stood before the atomic bomb survivors and called for a "world without nuclear weapons," and the Prime Minister vowed to redouble efforts to achieve permanent world peace as we mark the 71st year since the bombing.
On August 9, Prime Minister Abe attended the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony at Peace Park in Nagasaki, where he emphasized that "we must never repeat the tragic experiences of 71 years ago" and highlighted the need to strictly uphold the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, as well as to maintain and strengthen the regime of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
There were ceremonies on August 15, the anniversary of the end of the war, which is a day to commemorate those who died in the war and to pray for peace in Japan.
Prime Minister Abe attended the National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead at Nippon Budokan together with approximately 6,000 surviving family members, where he vowed "never to repeat the devastation of war," expressing his intent to do everything possible to "build a bright, hopeful future for Japan" and to achieve a world where people can live spiritually rich and satisfying lives.
Since the end of the war, Japan has consistently chosen the path of pacifism. The government and the ruling coalition will continue to work together, with the understanding of the Japanese people, to build a peaceful nation for our children and grandchildren.
