e.

Survivors have expressed frustration and worry over growing support for the possession of nuclear weapons for deterrence by the international community, including Japan.

Japan is under the protection of U.S. nuclear umbrella and has repeatedly sought Washington's reassurance of its commitment and stronger protection. Because of that, Japan's government has rejected the survivors' request to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons or attend its meetings as observers.

The bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city and killed 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and Japan's nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

The number of survivors has fallen to 91,105, about a quarter of the original number, with their average age exceeding 86. Survivors worry about fading memories, as the youngest of the survivors were too young to clearly recall the attack.

 The horror of nuclear weapons is just one lesson of Hiroshima. Another is the need to build a world in which the threat or use of these weapons becomes unthinkable,  United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in a written statement.

 Hiroshima stands as an inspiring example of resilience, renewal and hope. Across generations, its people remind us that, even after the darkest moments, we can choose - and build - a different future,  he said, calling for  dialogue over division, cooperation over confrontation and common security over narrow advantage.