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ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ (ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥) marked the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing Saturday, August 6, with its annual memorial service to remember the victims.

The ceremony is held yearly in front of ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥¡¯s ¡°Memorial Monument for the Victims of the Atomic Bomb¡± on the Higashi Senda Campus. This year¡¯s memorial service was again conducted on a reduced scale to prevent new coronavirus infections and heat stroke. About 40 people, including bereaved families and university staff, attended the event.

ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ President Mitsuo Ochi and a representative of the bereaved families dedicated a register listing the names of 2,060 A-bomb victims to the cenotaph, followed by a minute of silence.

In his memorial service address, President Ochi reiterated his pledge that 100 years from now, ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ would continue to carry out its mission as a ¡°University of Peace.¡±

Flowers and water were offered to the cenotaph and, later, to the adjacent ¡°Monument of the Buried Remains of the A-bomb Victims¡± to comfort the souls of the victims.

University officials and Malaysian students studying at ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ also held a memorial service in front of the grave of Mr. Nik Yusof at Kozenji Temple in ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ City's Saiki Ward. Yusof, was a Malaysian exchange student then studying at ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ of Literature and Science, one of the forerunners of the present ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥, when he fell victim to the atomic bombing.

The ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ Junior and Senior High Schools, attached schools to the university, also held a memorial service for their predecessor institution, the ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ Higher Normal School. A similar ceremony was held by the ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥-attached Fukuyama Junior and Senior High Schools at Koujin-do in Kokutaiji-machi, Naka-ku, ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ City for their predecessor school, the Yamanaka High School for Girls, which was then part of the ÌÇÐÄÖ±²¥ Women's Higher Normal School.

Click here for the full text of President Mitsuo Ochi's memorial service address (Japanese) (English)

*Masks may be removed at the ceremony to prevent heat stroke.