Nagasaki marks US atomic bombing anniversary

The Japanese city of Nagasaki has observed the 68th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing that reduced the city to rubble and ended WWII.

Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue criticised the Japanese government at a ceremony Friday for refusing to sign a statement rejecting the use of nuclear weapons. The statement was offered at an international disarmament meeting in April.

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing about 140,000 people. Days later, on August 9, Nagasaki was hit by a second nuclear bomb that killed about 70,000.

Hiroshima held an observance of the first bombing on Tuesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a crowd of about 50,000 that Japan has a unique responsibility to push for the end of nuclear weapons.

- VOA