Hiroshima Day 2020 – August 6

August 6th of every year is observed as Hiroshima Day to mark the world’s first atomic bombing on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II which instantly killed more than 70,000 people. The day is to remember the victims of the bombing and to promote world peace and create awareness about the hazards of Nuclear Power and nuclear weapons.
6th August 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of Hiroshima Day.

Atomic Bombing in Hiroshima:

i.The Target committee of the Allied Forces selected Hiroshima and Nagasaki for their importance and industrial and military facilities and the order for atomic bombing was issued on 25th July.

ii.On 28th July 1945, the Japanese government rejected the declaration on the unconditional surrender presented by the allied leaders, Franklin Roosevelt (the United States), Winston Churchill (Great Britain), and Joseph Stalin (the Soviet Union) of World War II.

iii.On 6th august 1945, The United States of America detonated the first nuclear bomb named “Little Boy”, a uranium gun-type bomb, from a modified B-29 bomber named Enola Gay at 1900 feet above the city of Hiroshima followed by “Fat Man”, plutonium implosion bomb over Nagasaki on 9th August 1945.

iv.On 15th August 1945, Japan surrendered and signed the declaration of surrender on 2nd September in Tokyo Bay.

Note:
Colonel Paul Tibets led the mission to drop the atomic bomb.

Effects of the Little Boy:

i.More than 70,000 to 80,000 people were killed instantly over the bombing and the firestorm and many more people lost their lives in the months that followed due to the exposure to high level radiation.

ii.The bombing caused major structural damage and around 69% of the buildings in Hiroshima were reduced to rumbles and dusts.

Events on Hiroshima Day:

i.A memorial ceremony is conducted at the Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park, due to the global pandemic the memorial events of Hiroshima day in Japan are scaled down to only the survivors and their family with the reserved dignitaries (around 880 seats) along with the Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister of Japan.

ii.Kazumi Matsui, the mayor of Hiroshima renewed a “Peace Declaration” and appealed to the government of Japan to approve a 2017 United Nations treaty proposing the elimination of Nuclear power.

Note:
The first ceremony of Hiroshima day was held in 1947.

About Japan:

Prime Minister– Shinzō Abe
Capital– Tokyo
Currency– Japanese Yen
UNESCO World Heritage Site– Genbaku Dome, one of the few structures left standing in the city center after the bomb