HIROSHIMA — Japan commemorated the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombing on Thursday, with the Prime Minister and survivors gathering at the Peace Memorial Park as the nation grappled with financial turbulence.

The ceremony took place days after Japanese authorities intervened in currency markets to support a weakening yen. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a CNBC interview that Washington would do "whatever it takes" to support Japan, signalling coordination between the two allies on financial stability.

At the memorial, the mayor of Hiroshima renewed calls for global nuclear disarmament, warning that rising international tensions threatened decades of non-proliferation efforts. Representatives from dozens of countries and the United Nations attended the annual event, which included a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m., the time the bomb detonated in 1945.

The convergence of the solemn anniversary and acute market pressure underscored the twin challenges facing Japan's government. Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance officials have monitored the yen closely, while the administration sought to reassure investors that intervention would continue if needed.

Ambassadors and disarmament advocates urged nuclear-armed states to recommit to arms reduction, citing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as evidence of growing danger. Survivor groups, known as hibakusha, pressed Japan to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.