NAGASAKI — The Japanese city of Nagasaki commemorated the 81st anniversary of the United States atomic bombing on Saturday, with survivors, government leaders and foreign envoys gathering at the Peace Park to renew calls for nuclear disarmament. The ceremony marked the moment the bomb detonated on August 9, 1945, killing an estimated 74,000 people.

A moment of silence was observed as the Peace Bell tolled, and the mayor of Nagasaki delivered the annual Peace Declaration. The declaration urged nuclear-armed states to abandon their arsenals and pressed Japan's government to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The commemoration followed Hiroshima's ceremony earlier in the week, forming the annual sequence of memorials that anchor Japan's anti-nuclear message. Ageing survivors, known as hibakusha, featured prominently, with organisers noting that their average age now exceeds 86 and warning that firsthand testimony is fading.

This year's observances unfolded as global anxiety over nuclear risk mounted following the ongoing Iran conflict and stalled arms-control diplomacy among major powers. Diplomats from dozens of countries attended, as did the Japanese Prime Minister.

The city's message stressed that the destruction of 1945 must never be repeated and called on younger generations to carry the memory forward as the number of living witnesses declines.