Mari Yamaguchi

Hiroshima commemorated the 81st anniversary of the 1945 US atomic bombing, which killed about 140,000 people, with Mayor Kazumi Matsui warning that nuclear deterrence and the use of force could lead to further catastrophic violence. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reaffirmed Japan’s existing three non-nuclear principles but avoided committing to maintain them indefinitely, amid speculation that her hawkish government may reconsider the policy barring nuclear weapons from entering Japan. Survivors expressed concern over growing support for nuclear deterrence and the fading of firsthand memories, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for dialogue, cooperation and a future in which nuclear weapons are never used.

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Japan’s Kumamoto area killed at least 23 people and injured 63, including five seriously, while rescuers searched collapsed buildings for survivors. The disaster damaged homes and infrastructure, triggered an explosion and collapse at an Aeon shopping centre, and caused a factory chimney to fall in Yatsushiro. Nearly 23,000 homes remained without electricity and more than 10,000 people were sheltering in evacuation centres as authorities faced worsening conditions and an urgent race against time.