Hiroshima Day is annually observed across the globe on 6th August to commemorate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in Japan by the United States of America in 1945.
- 6th August 2024 marks the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Background:
i.During the World War II (WWII – 1939-1945), the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Boeing-29 (B29) Superfortress ‘Enola Gay’ dropped the first atomic bomb, nicknamed ‘Little Boy’, over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6th August 1945.
ii.The bomb was detonated at an altitude of 1,800 feet over Hiroshima. This resulted in the loss of 39% of the city’s civilian population.
iii.3 days after the Hiroshima bombing, on 9th August 1945, a B-29 named Bock’s Car dropped the 2nd atomic bomb nicknamed `Fat Man’ over the city of Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.
iii.Hiroshima’s 1st Peace Festival was held on 6 August 1947, 2 years after the bombing, and the Hiroshima Peace Festival Association organised the Peace Festival to promote lasting peace.
About the First Atomic bombing:
i.Little Boy was a gun-type Uranium-235 (U-235) bomb and had a force of 15,000 tons of TNT (Trinitrotoluene). It weighed 9,700 pounds and measured 10 feet in length and 28 inches in diameter.
- Colonel Paul Tibbets, USAAF was the pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the “Little Boy” atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The co-pilot was Captain Robert Alvin Lewis, USAAF.
ii.The bomb destroyed 13 square kilometers (5 square miles) of the city and caused about 140,000 deaths by the end of 1945.
Aftermath of atomic bombing:
i.The bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki in August 1945 brought an end to WW2. The Allied powers, which included Great Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union, won the WW2 defeating Germany, Italy, and Japan.
ii.On 15th August 1945, Japan publicly announced its surrender and on 2nd September 1945, Japanese representatives signed the official Instrument of Surrender, on the deck of the United States Ship (USS) Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
i.On 6 August every year, the Hiroshima Day Memorial Service is held at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, The Genbaku Dome to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.
- The Genbaku Dome is the only structure left standing after the first atomic bomb explosion on 6th August 1945.
ii.The Genbaku Dome was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1996.
2024 Event:
The 2024 Peace Memorial Ceremony was held on 6 August 2024 in front of the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims (Memorial Monument for Hiroshima, City of Peace) in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park to mark the 79th Hiroshima Day.
2024 World Conference against A & H Bombs:
i.The 2024 World Conference against A & H Bombs is taking place on August 3-9, 2024 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki under the theme: “Together with the Hibakusha, let us achieve a nuclear weapon-free, peaceful, and just world — for the future of the humankind and our planet”.
ii.An H-bomb, or Hydrogen bomb, is a thermonuclear weapon that uses nuclear fusion and atomic fission to create an explosion.
iii.An A-bomb, or Atomic bomb, is a fission device that splits heavy atoms to release energy.
- H-bombs are more powerful, compact, and lighter than A-bombs.
About Japan:
Prime Minister (PM)- Fumio Kishida
Capital– Tokyo
Currency– Japanese Yen
