The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki mark the 70th anniversary of their atomic bombings today and three days later, respectively. On these days, people in Japan remember the suffering and agony of the victims of the only two nuclear attacks in history and pray for their souls and for peace. The anniversaries should also remind leaders and citizens of Japan and other nations of the need to renew their determination to make serious efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons as well as to make peace prevail around the world.
It is important for leaders and citizens alike to remember that endeavors to abolish nuclear weapons cannot be separated from efforts to prevent war. For the seven decades after its defeat in World War II, Japan has tread a pacifist path under the war-renouncing Constitution.
Now the nation's security policy is at a crossroads, with the Abe administration touting a "proactive contribution to peace" that entails Japan taking on greater roles in international security affairs. The security legislation pending in the Diet would pave the way for Japan to engage in collective self-defense with its allies and significantly expand the scope of Self-Defense Forces' overseas missions. People should ponder what such developments would do to Japan's pacifist posture.