Peace Declaration is an annual speech delivered by the Mayor of
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
on August 6, the day that city was destroyed by an atom bomb delivered by a US
B-29
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...
. That speech has been delivered regularly since 1947, except for 1950, when the US occupation forces prohibited Mayor
Shinzo Hamai to deliver the speech. The Peace Declaration at first touched upon issues such as nuclear disarmament, but since the 1980s also issues such as armed conflicts around the world in general.
A similar annual speech is also delivered by the Mayor of
Nagasaki
, officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...
since 1948.
Memorial ceremonies marked by special guests or features
Some of the memorial ceremonies were marked by statements by additional leaders than just the mayor of Hiroshima.
At the 1st ceremony in 1947, a message was read by General McArthur.
The 2nd ceremony in 1948 was attended by the Australian Commander of the
British Commonwealth Occupation Force Gen.
Horace Robertson.
The 1971 ceremony was the first attended by a Japanese prime minister
Eisaku Satō
was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1964 to 1972. He is the third longest-serving Japanese prime minister, and is ranked second by longest uninterrupted service. Satō is best remembered for securing the return ...
.
The 1977 ceremony was the first attended by a UN official. UN General Assembly president
Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe was among the speakers.
US diplomatic cable referring to Amerasinghe's speech in Hiroshima
/ref>
The 2010 ceremony was the first attended by the US Ambassador to Japan.
Notes
{{Reflist
References
* Robert Jungk, ''Children of the Ashes'' (1961)
* Yoshiteru Kosakai, ''Hiroshima Peace Reader'' (Hiroshima, 1980)
External links
* ttp://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/mediacenter/article.php?story=20100723155429435_en Peace Declarations for A-bomb anniversaries reflect the times 2010 article in the Chugoku Shimbun.
Peace declaration a reflection of the times
a revised 2011 version of the same article.
Remembrance days