Hiroshima marks 80 years since atomic bombing as tensions rise

City's mayor warns of 'accelerating trend towards military build-up around the world'

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HIROSHIMA - Japan on Aug 6 marked 80 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima with a ceremony reminding the world of the horrors unleashed, as sabre-rattling between the United States and Russia keeps the nuclear "Doomsday Clock" close to midnight.

A silent prayer was held at 8.15am, the moment when US aircraft Enola Gay dropped Little Boy over the western Japanese city on Aug 6, 1945.

On a sweltering morning, hundreds of black-clad officials, students and survivors laid flowers at the memorial cenotaph, with the ruins of a domed building in the background, a stark reminder of the horrors that unfolded.

In a speech, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui warned of "an accelerating trend towards military build-up around the world", against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the chaos in the Middle East.

"These developments flagrantly disregard the lessons the international community should have learnt from the tragedies of history," he said.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said it was Japan's mission "to take the lead... towards a world without nuclear weapons".

The final death toll of the Hiroshima attack would hit around 140,000 people, killed not just by the colossal blast and the ball of fire, but also later by the radiation.