Saturday, August 6 2005 09:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hiroshima: With prayers and flowers, residents of Hiroshima today (Aug 6, 2005) began marking the 60th anniversary of the world's first nuclear bombing which claimed more than 140,000 lives.

A bell was tolled at 8:15 am (0445 IST) and the city observed a minute of silence, the exact moment that a US bomb obliterated the city in 1945.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, dressed in a dark suit, opened the ceremony in the reconstructed city by laying a wreath at the memorial park in the heart of the city and bowing before a coffin that lists names of the victims.

Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba urged the United Nations to adopt specific steps to abolish nuclear weapons by 2020

Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said that six decades into the atomic age, 'selfish' states including nuclear aspirant North Korea were threatening 'human survival'. He urged the United Nations to adopt specific steps to abolish nuclear weapons by 2020.

But the mayor acknowledged the task would be uphill, seeing the lack of progress at a UN meeting in May meant to review the main treaty on ending the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

"The review conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty this past May left no doubt that the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and a few other nations wishing to become nuclear-weapon states are ignoring the majority voices of the people and Governments of the world, thereby jeopardizing human survival," Akiba said.

"Based on the dogma, 'Might is right,' these countries have formed their own 'nuclear club,' the admission requirement being the possession of nuclear weapons," the mayor said.

"Within the United Nations, nuclear club members use their veto power to override the global majority and pursue their selfish objectives."

Before dawn, residents of Hiroshima ranging from workers in uniform to old men walking with canes gathered at the memorial in the heart of the city to burn incense, lay flowers and say prayers for the dead.

"Even if everyone thinks they will rest in peace in the grave, these people sacrificed their eternal rest for peace," said Shin Hikibe, a retiree who came to the monument in a wheel chair.

Nichie Kakimoto, a slender 79-year-old woman who came to the ceremony with a cane, said she still 'cannot explain' how she felt about suffering the nuclear bombing.

"For more than 50 years after the war, I couldn't come here. And I can't visit the museum," she said.

The Hiroshima bombing killed more than 140,000 people either immediately or in the months that followed from horrific burns or radiation.

The United States dropped a second nuclear bomb on August 9 on Nagasaki, killing another 70,000 people. Emperor Hirohito surrendered on August 15.