"Friends seeking peace": Japanese envoy thanks India for "unwavering compassion" on 80th anniversary of Hiroshima-Nagasaki Bombing

New Delhi [India], August 8 (ANI): As Japan marked the 80th anniversary of atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, its ambassador to India has expressed deep regards to the people of India for their unwavering compassion towards the victims of the horrific tragedy.

"Japan has been advancing efforts toward a world without nuclear weapons to ensure that a tragedy of will never be repeated. The people of India have shown us deep sympathy as friends seeking peace," Ambassador of Japan to India, Ono Keiichi said on Friday.

The Japanese envoy inaugurated a photo exhibition in the national capital today to mark the bombing in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and three days later in Nagasaki.

He called the exhibition held at the India International Centre here as an opportunity to reflect upon the preciousness of peace.

Addressing a gathering of students and guests, Ambassador Ono Keiichi said, "In August 1945, the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki claimed hundreds of thousands of precious lives in an instant. And even those who survived have had to live with indescribable suffering. Since then, as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings during war, Japan has been advancing efforts toward a world without nuclear weapons to ensure that such a tragedy will never be repeated. The people of India have shown us deep sympathy as friends seeking peace", he said.

Ambassador Keiichi said "In October 1957, the then Prime Minister, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, visited Hiroshima as the first foreign leader to visit the city after the atomic bombings. Then in May 2023, Prime Minister Modi visited the city during the G7 Hiroshima Summit meeting. This marked the second visit to Hiroshima by an Indian Prime Minister since Pandit Nehru. Prime Minister Modi visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and laid flowers at the cenotaph for the atomic bomb victims. Prime Minister Modi also unveiled the bust of Mahatma Gandhi, which was donated to Hiroshima city by India."

The Japanese envoy highlighted that the G7 Hiroshima Summit was a historic opportunity for G7 leaders and other world leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, to have a first-hand look at the reality of the atomic bombings and share their aspirations for a world without nuclear weapons.

The diplomat brought to attention the moment of silence which was observed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, in memory of the victims of the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "The moment of silence has been observed almost every year for 40 years since 1985. I believe that India is the only country that continues this practice to this day. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the people of India for their unwavering compassion for the victims in both cities over such a long period," he said.

Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament, held a two minute silence honoring the memory of victims of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on its 80th anniversary.@LokSabhaSectt @IndianEmbTokyo @JapaninIndia pic.twitter.com/k6nhaLtaAX

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) August 6, 2025

Ambassador Ono Keiichi in his concluding remarks expressed hope that the event would serve as an opportunity to connect the hearts of Japanese and Indian people, "who seek a world without nuclear weapons and to reflect on the preciousness of peace."

The Ambassador also signed the visitors book and wrote, "May the world without nuclear weapons be realized".

Expressing his views on the exhibition, India's first Ambassador to Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva, former Ambassador Rakesh Sood told ANI, "The message to today's generation- who will be leaders tomorrow, scientists tomorrow, diplomats tomorrow, remains the same, 'never again'. "

Speaking on the topic of nuclear deterrence, Sood stated, "It would be reasonable to have both doctrinal and technical measures. We need to strengthen the nuclear fuses, need to have more communication, develop instruments to reduce nuclear risks through accidental or inadvertent escalation and we need to have doctrinal approaches like no first-use policies."

Former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran who was among the visitors at the exhibition told ANI, "The reason why we have this exhibition and have invited the Japanese Ambassador to be present here and inaugurate this exhibition is because over a period of time- 80 years since the bombing took place, the kind of concern-- people being aware of the vast devastation which occurred, seems to have receded into the background".

Saran said that the exhibition serves as a medium particularly for the younger generation to understand the kind of catastrophe that the use of nuclear weapons could bring and how the new generation should come together to start championing the cause of nuclear disarmament.

The photo exhibition that will go on till August 14 is themed 'Remembering Hiroshima-Nagasaki'.

It features survivors' testimonies, physical after-effects, relief and rescue work, former PM Jawahar Lal Nehru's visit to Hiroshima, visuals from the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, PM Modi unveiling Mahatma Gandhi's bust in the city, amongst several other key historic moments. (ANI)

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