On atomic bomb anniversary, Hiroshima mayor warns against ‘self-centered’ nationalism - The Washington Post

HIROSHIMA, Japan — On the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of his city, the mayor of Hiroshima warned the world about the rise of "self-centered nationalism" and appealed for greater international cooperation to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.

treaty proposing the elimination of nuclear weapons.

“A subsequent upsurge in nationalism led to World War II and the atomic bombings.

“Division, distrust and a lack of dialogue threaten to return the world to unrestrained strategic nuclear competition.”.

“People around the world must work together, must fight this disease, must learn together,” said Keiko Ogura, who was 8 when the atomic bomb struck 1.5 miles from her home in the north of the Hiroshima.

She has spent her life calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons, and she says she sees encouraging signs that young people are taking up the campaign.

9, 1945, and preceded Japan’s surrender in World War II.

leadership knew Japan was about to surrender as the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan by invading Manchuria in August 1945.

(Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima a proportional response? Let’s look at the numbers.).

In Japan, the memory of Hiroshima has fueled a national sense of the country as victim rather than perpetrator of the war, diminishing the memory of the intense militaristic nationalism that led it down such a destructive path

In Japan, the government has been criticized for helping obscure the memory of Japan’s war crimes, including removing some references from school textbooks