Nagasaki bombing remembered on 68th anniversary

The Japanese port city of Nagasaki observed the 68th anniversary of the dropping of the second and last atomic bomb ever used in warfare by pushing the Japanese government to increase its efforts to promote the elimination on nuclear weapons.

Sixty-eight years ago Tuesday, a crew of American airmen dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing as many as 80,000 people. Three days later, when the Japanese continued to ignore the Allied ultimatum to surrender, another crew dropped a second bomb, 250 miles to the south, at Nagasaki.

On August 12, 1945, Emperor Hirohito decided to surrender, ending the war.

At a commemorative event Friday, Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue chided Tokyo's refusal to sign an international statement rejecting any use of nuclear weapons, as well as a deal with India to restart nuclear energy talks.

Representatives of 44 countries were expected to attend Friday's event, including, for the first time, India, as well as all five nuclear power signatories of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and Israel.

Taue was expected to urge the U.S. and Russia to accelerate the reduction of their nuclear arsenals and encourage Japan to make its three non-nuclear principles into established law.