Sunday marked the 78th anniversary of the U.S. dropping the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing some 140,000 people. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people. During the annual Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, Japanese leaders called on nations around the world to work toward nuclear disarmament. This is Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui.

Mayor Kazumi Matsui: “Leaders around the world must confront the fact that the theory of nuclear deterrence is folly and that it is necessary to quickly begin concrete efforts to lead us from our harsh reality to an ideal world.”