OFFICIALS in the Japanese city of Hiroshima today slammed the growing support for nuclear weapons as a deterrent.

Hiroshima was marking the anniversary of the use of the world’s first atomic bomb, which destroyed their city 78 years ago and altered the course of history.

This came two months after Hiroshima hosted a summit of the Group of 7 major industrial nations, at which world leaders visited the city’s peace park and a museum dedicated to those who died in the devastating attack.

The leaders issued a joint statement calling for the continued non-use of nuclear weapons, but they also justified having such arms to “serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war and coercion.”

But Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui rejected that position in his peace address at the commemoration.

He said: “Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of nuclear deterrence theory. 

“They must immediately take concrete steps to lead us from the dangerous present towards our ideal world.”

Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzai questioned the growing calls for reinforced nuclear deterrence around the world.

“Believers of proactive nuclear deterrence, who say nuclear weapons are indispensable to maintain peace, are only delaying the progress towards nuclear disarmament,” Mr Yuzai said.

The atomic bomb dropped by the United States Air Force B-29, the Enola Gay, on Hiroshima on August 6 1945, destroyed the city, killing 140,000 people.

A second bomb was dropped three days later on Nagasaki, killing an additional 70,000. 

Japan surrendered on August 15, ending World War II.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima in parliament, has been slammed by survivors for refusing to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

People at the ceremony observed a moment of silence with the sound of a peace bell at 8.15am, the time the bomb destroyed the city and hundreds of white doves were released.

Many survivors of the bombings have lasting injuries and illnesses resulting from the explosions and radiation exposure and face discrimination in Japan.

As of March, 113,649 survivors, whose average age is now 85, are  eligible for government medical support, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry. 

But many others, including those who say they were victims of the “black rain” that fell outside the initially designated areas, are still without support.

The mayor urged Kishida’s government to provide stronger support and address their wishes.