Hiroshima bombing anniversary marked

HIROSHIMA, Japan, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The mayor of Hiroshima, on the anniversary of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of the Japanese city, Wednesday urged the global abolition of nuclear weapons.

Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said he hoped the next elected U.S. president would support the majority of people who wish the same, Kyodo news service reported.

The 63rd anniversary of the bombing was marked by a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima, killing an estimated 140,000 people by the end of 1945, the report said.

A second atomic bomb was dropped on Aug. 9, 1945, which then led to Japanese surrender during World War II.

Akiba spoke while reading a declaration at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. The event was attended by diplomats from 55 countries.

He said 170 countries had supported Japan's resolution against nuclear weapons at the United Nations last year.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda pledged to maintain Japan's commitment of not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on its soil.

As of March this year, there were 243,692 atomic bomb survivors reportedly living in and outside of Japan. Their average age is more than 75.