A register of people who died as a result of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city of Hiroshima was given an airing on Thursday for its upkeep.
After offering a silent prayer at 8:15 a.m., the exact time that the atomic bomb was dropped on Aug. 6, 1945, city government officials took the register out of a stone chamber at the cenotaph in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
The officials then carefully turned the pages of the register to remove moisture and check for damage.
The register consists of 128 books that contain the names of 344,306 people who died on or before Aug. 5 last year, as well as the dates of their death. One of the books is for numerous victims whose names are unknown.
The officials also aired out another book containing the names of 13 victims of the atomic bombing of the city of Nagasaki, which took place three days after the bombing of Hiroshima.
They are remembered at the memorial monument for the victims in Hiroshima in accordance with their own wishes or those of their family members.
As this year marks the 80th anniversary of the bombing, the city government showed the inside of the stone chamber to the media for the first time.
"We hope everyone commemorates the victims together and shares the spirit of Hiroshima," a city government official said.
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