Staff writer

HIROSHIMA -- The city of Hiroshima on Sunday marked the 54th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb by calling on the leaders of the world's nuclear states to exercise strong will in abolishing nuclear weapons.

Before a crowd estimated at 50,000, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba stressed that strong will is born from the truth that nuclear weapons "are the absolute evil and will be the cause of humankind's extinction."

Akiba praised the victims of radiation exposure.

"We must possess the strong will to abolish nuclear weapons following the examples set by the hibakusha. If all the world shares this commitment -- indeed, even if only the leaders of the nuclear weapons states do so -- nuclear weapons can be eliminated tomorrow," Akiba said.

Continuing an annual tradition, participants at the Peace Memorial Ceremony, held to remember the victims of the 1945 bombing and offer a prayer for lasting peace, observed a minute of silence at 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima 54 years ago.

This year, the names of 5,071 survivors of the bombing who perished over the past year were added to the register of officially recognized atomic bomb victims who have died since the blast, bringing the total to 212,116.

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, Health and Welfare Minister Sohei Miyashita, Hiroshima prefectural and municipal officials and Pakistani Ambassador to Japan Toquir Hussain were also on hand for the annual ceremony.

Akiba called on the Japanese government to fully understand the crucial role atomic bomb survivors have played in presenting their wishes for peace, enhance support policies for them and place the highest priority on forging the will to abolish nuclear weapons.

He singled out young people and called on them to remember the struggle of the hibakusha against nuclear weapons.

"If we lack the will to take the first step, we can never reach our goal no matter how easy the way. I especially hope our young people share this will," said Akiba, a former Lower House member from the Social Democratic Party.

The mayor, who was elected in February, said the hibakusha have made important contributions, such as effectively preventing a third use of nuclear weapons, by telling the world that to use nuclear weapons "is to doom the human race."

Another achievement, he said, is that they have rejected the path of revenge and animosity that could lead to the extinction of all humankind and put their trust in justice and the faith of all people to create a future full of hope.

He showed concern over fading memories of wartime experiences, and the difficulty in passing messages from atomic bomb survivors on to the next generation.

Obuchi also addressed the audience at the ceremony, pledging that the government will play an active role in creating a nuclear-free world as "it is the responsibility of the nation that suffered from the world's first nuclear attack."

However, Obuchi admitted that it would be difficult to attain that goal, in light of rising regional conflicts and continuing arms buildups in some countries.

He also said the government would attempt to carry out recent recommendations made in an unofficial report on regional disarmament issues presented by a group of experts.

The report, issued by the Tokyo Forum late last month, calls on the five declared nuclear states to reduce nuclear weapons through a step-by-step approach.

"We would like to move toward a nuclear-free world by strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation system recommended in the report," Obuchi said.

The annual ceremony began at 8 a.m., but many people arrived earlier at Peace Memorial Park to lay flowers in front of the cenotaph honoring the victims and to pray.

A 69-year-old atomic bomb survivor got up at 4 a.m. to catch a bus to the park from the town of Sera in eastern Hiroshima Prefecture. She lost a sister who was working as a nurse in the city to the nuclear attack.

"She was 20 years old at that time. My father and I searched in vain for her remains," Tsuya Sunatani said. "My father mourned so much, and I come here every year to pray for her. Even after so many years, I still remember vividly the day of the bombing."

Sunatani was in the city of Kure at that time, also working as a nurse.