Nagasaki mayor warns nuclear powers of rising war risk on 81st bomb anniversary

At Nagasaki’s 81st-anniversary ceremony, Mayor Shiro Suzuki declared nuclear arms an "absolute evil" and warned that the world’s stockpile of over 12,000 warheads raises the chance of nuclear war. He cited the unpredictable conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, noting the involvement of nuclear-armed nations. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reiterated Japan’s commitment to its three non-nuclear principles and promised practical actions to achieve global disarmament.

Suzuki also urged the Japanese government to honor the constitutional peace ethos and to attend the upcoming review of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The U.N. secretary-general, speaking on behalf of the organization, said the risk of miscalculation is climbing and called the situation unacceptable. Survivors of the 1945 bombing, now in their eighties, were reminded that preserving their testimony is critical.