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Lanterns are lit and placed on the Motoyasu river by the Atomic Bomb Dome (behind) in remembrance of the victims in Hiroshima on August 5, 2023, on the eve before ceremonies to mark the 78th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack.
Image: JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images

Hiroshima

Hiroshima is a Japanese city of over 1 million people on the island of Honshu. Eighty years ago, on August 6, 1945, it was hit by a US nuclear bomb in the final phase of World War II.

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All Content on this topic

Flowers placed on a stone at the Peace Park in Nagasaki on August 9, 2025

Nagasaki warns of nuclear war on 80th A bomb anniversary

On the 80th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki, the city's mayor warns of growing threat of nuclear war.
ConflictsAugust 9, 2025
Anti-nuclear protesters offer a silent tribute to victims during a rally in Tokyo March 10, 2013, a day before the second-year anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis.

80 years on, has the world learned the lessons of Hiroshima?

As nations expand increasingly destructive nuclear arsenals, observers warn humanity may now face its greatest risk yet.
PoliticsAugust 6, 202503:12 min
Visitors observing a minute's silence for the victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945

Japan marks 80 years since the Hiroshima atomic bombing

Hiroshima marked 80 years since the atomic bombing, holding a ceremony reminding the world of the horrors unleashed.
ConflictsAugust 6, 2025
A crow flies over the Genbaku Dome, near Memorial Park, in Hiroshima, Japan, August 5, 2025

Japan: Passing on the pain of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

A new generation of storytellers is stepping up to ensure the world never forgets the human cost of nuclear war.
PoliticsAugust 6, 2025
A b/w headshot of Julius Robert Oppenheimer looking straight into the camera

Oppenheimer: The man behind the atomic bomb

This documentary explores work of Julius Robert Oppenheimer, who is regarded as the father of the atomic bomb.
SocietyJuly 26, 202552:11 min
Terumi Tanaka representing the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Nihon Hidankyo group, is seen behind paper cranes, symbol of the fight against nuclear weapons and logo of Nihon Hidankyo, as he gives a press conference in Oslo, Norway

Nagasaki, Hiroshima survivors receive Nobel Peace Prize

Activist group Nihon Hidankyo calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons at Nobel Prize award ceremony in Oslo, Norway.
ConflictsDecember 10, 202401:53 min
People offer prayers at the Cenotaph for the A-Bomb Victims at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Anti-nuclear group wins 2024 Nobel Peace Prize

Nihon Hidankyo represents the survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.
ConflictsOctober 11, 202402:18 min
Aerial view of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park during ceremony

Japan marks Hiroshima anniversary as regional conflicts rage

Officials in Hiroshima have urged the abolition of nuclear arms to reduce the risk of atomic war amid global tensions.
PoliticsAugust 6, 2024
Nakajima-cho district days after the atomic bombing of 1945, and the location of the Peace Memorial Park. Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima horrors endure through memorial and survivors

Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Museum and the survivors of the bombing are a reminder of the events of August 6, 1945.
CultureAugust 5, 20249 images
Paper cranes in a glass case

Japan: Hiroshima victim's origami a warning from the past

The family of Sadako Sasaki wants her paper cranes recognized by UNESCO as a symbol of the horrors of nuclear weapons.
HistorySeptember 20, 2023
People in Japan offering prayers at a memorial service

Japan marks 78th anniversary of Hiroshima atomic bombing

At the memorial ceremony, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui called the nuclear deterrence policy of G7 leaders a "folly."
ConflictsAugust 6, 2023
Visitors looking at a picture of devastated Hiroshima

Hiroshima: Atomic bomb survivors keep memory alive

As the city prepares to pay homage to the victims of the bombing, memories are being preserved for future generations.
CultureAugust 5, 2023
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum shows the destruction of the city and aftermath of the blast on August 6, 1945

Hiroshima 'successors' keep telling atomic bomb stories

The number of atomic bomb survivors is declining in Japan. Their "successors" are now telling their stories.
ConflictsAugust 4, 202303:23 min
President Joe Biden, fourth left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, fifth right, and other G7 leaders pose for a photo before a working session on Ukraine during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Other leaders from right to left, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Zelenskyy, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and European Council President Charles Michel and Gianluigi Benedetti, Italian ambassador to Japan.

G7: Ukraine dominates last day of 'successful' summit

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy took center stage on the last day of the G7 summit in Japan.
PoliticsMay 21, 2023
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukraine's Zelenskyy, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau

G7 summit: Zelenskyy pushes Ukraine peace plan in Hiroshima

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an appearance at the G7 meeting to seek assistance from allies.
ConflictsMay 21, 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hold a Quad meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit, at the Grand Prince Hotel in Hiroshima, Japan, May 20, 2023.

At G7, Japan quietly strengthens alliances

Japan is diplomatically cultivating allies near and far during its G7 presidency.
ConflictsMay 20, 2023
Portrait of Toshiko Tanaka, one of the last survivors of the Hiroshima nuclear attack

Atom bomb survivor speaks about quest for peace

Toshiko Tanaka is a survivor of the Hiroshima atom bomb. Now, she's sharing her story.
SocietyApril 28, 202306:06 min
DW Global 3000 Sendungslogo Composite

California’s water from the toilet to the tap

A survivor from the Hiroshima bombing is fighting for peace; California recycles water.
Nature and EnvironmentApril 21, 202326:06 min
Russian President Vladimir Putin sitting alongside Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky and Colonel General Oleg Makarevich

Ukraine updates: Putin visits troops in Kherson, Luhansk

Meanwhile, G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan have vowed to intensify sanctions against Moscow. DW has the latest.
PoliticsApril 18, 2023
Russian letters in string lights

What would happen if a nuclear bomb was used in Ukraine?

Historic events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chernobyl and Fukushima, are only a rough guide to fallout from nuclear war.
ScienceNovember 14, 2022
People gather to pray for the victims of Nagasaki Atomic Bomb at Peace Park in Nagasaki City

Nagasaki mayor warns of 'tangible' nuclear crisis

The mayor of the Japanese city said Russia's invasion of Ukraine showed that peace through deterrence was fragile.
HistoryAugust 9, 2022
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lays a wreath at the cenotaph for the atomic bombing victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

UN head Guterres warns of nuclear arms race

Antonio Guterres has implored nuclear powers to stick to their no-first-strike policies during his visit to Japan.
ConflictsAugust 8, 2022
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lays a wreath at the cenotaph for the atomic bombing victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park

Hiroshima marks 77 years since atomic attack

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, a Hiroshima native, attended the commemoration dedicated to the victims of the 1945 bombing.
ConflictsAugust 6, 2022
People pray at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima

Russia slams Japan's snub over A-bomb anniversary events

Japan's decision comes in response to Russia's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine.
PoliticsMay 30, 2022
Goethe Medal 2021 | Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa

Connecting through sound art

Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa’s music fluctuates between Zen Buddhism and the avant-garde.
MusicDecember 4, 202103:58 min
Sunao Tsuboi

Hiroshima bomb survivor Sunao Tsuboi dies at 96

Sunao Tsuboi became a prominent campaigner for nuclear disarmament in the years that followed World War II.
Human RightsOctober 27, 2021
Flooded houses in Kurume City, western Japan

Japan: 1.5 million people asked to leave homes due to rain

Authorities issued fresh alerts in Hiroshima and Kyushu with more heavy rain forecast over the next few days.
Nature and EnvironmentAugust 14, 2021
People light incense sticks in Hiroshima

Japan's Suga call for end to nukes on Hiroshima anniversary

Japanese officials have scaled down the events on the 76th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing due to the pandemic.
HistoryAugust 6, 2021
anti nuclear weapon campaigners stage a protest

Nuclear weapons ban to enter into force

The UN treaty reached the minimum number of signatories, prompted by the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima bomb attack.
ConflictsOctober 25, 2020
Felix Steiner

Why nuclear weapons will always be with us

Felix Steiner
There is only one sure way to ever get rid of nuclear weapons, says Felix Steiner.
HistoryAugust 9, 2020
Japan Nagasaki Anniversary ceremony

Japan marks 75th anniversary of Nagasaki bombing

During a ceremony marking the bombing's anniversary, Nagasaki's mayor called for a global ban on nuclear weapons.
HistoryAugust 9, 2020
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Alex Rosen: 'Either we get rid of the bombs, or they get rid of us'

The world is marking the 75th anniversary of the US bombing of Hiroshima in Japan, the first atomic attack that killed more than 140,000 people in August 1945. Will the world ever be free of nuclear weapons? Brent Goff asked Alex Rosen, the chairman of the German chapter of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.
August 7, 202005:04 min
German covers of two graphic novels about Hiroshima

How a graphic novel illustrates Hiroshima's atomic disaster

'The Bomb' uses the power of images to show the disaster in a new light. It's not the first work to deal with the topic.
CultureAugust 6, 2020
The story of the schoolgirl Sadako has come to define the suffering a nuclear bomb unleashes.

How one girl shaped our understanding of Hiroshima

The story of the schoolgirl Sadako has come to define the suffering a nuclear bomb unleashes.
CatastropheAugust 6, 202007:49 min
People pray wearing masks Hiroshima

Japan marks 75th anniversary of Hiroshima bombing

The annual peace ceremony at Hiroshima has been scaled back this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
PoliticsAugust 6, 2020
People pray in Hiroshima

Germany calls for denuclearization on Hiroshima anniversary

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made the plea on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.
PoliticsAugust 5, 2020
The Hiroshima A-bomb blast photographed by the US military on August 6, 1945

Hiroshima survivor to mark anniversary of atomic bomb attack

Keiko Ogura intends to commemorate August 6 in peaceful contemplation alongside the river at Peace Park.
PoliticsAugust 5, 2020
A Pershing II missile

Maas: Everyone must junk nukes, not just Germany

A nuclear-weapon-free world requires international consensus, but Germany won't be taking the first step.
PoliticsNovember 22, 2019
Vorschaubild für DW Sendung Motor mobil, drive it, al volante vom 09.10.2019 - Fiat 24 Spider

Retro: Fiat 124 Spider

Fiat’s latest version of the roadster harks back in some ways to the 1960s.
Cars and TransportationOctober 9, 201905:38 min
Nagasaki residents attend a memorial service to mark the 74th anniversary of the atomic bombing

Nagasaki mayor: Adopt nuke-ban treaty

Nagasaki's mayor has urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to adopt the UN's 2017 nuclear weapons ban treaty.
HistoryAugust 9, 2019
A woman prays for victims of the 1945 atomic bombing in front of the Peace Statue

Nagasaki remembers atomic bomb victims 73 years on

The US nuclear strike on Nagasaki 73 years ago marked the second and the last time atomic weapons were used in WWII.
ConflictsAugust 9, 2018
Japan: Hiroshima

Japan marks 73 years since Hiroshima

A somber ceremony honored the people killed and injured and also served as a call to eliminate nuclear weapons.
ConflictsAugust 6, 2018
A local resident walks on submerged and destroyed houses in a flooded area in Mabi district of Kurashiki

Japan struggles with flood relief efforts

Scorching sun, mud-coated roads, damaged transportation networks and a lack of water are challenging relief workers.
CatastropheJuly 10, 2018
International campaign to abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) activists wearing yellow hazmat suits and holding a banner reading 'Time to go'

ICAN receives Nobel Peace Prize

In Oslo, winners ICAN warned of the nuclear dangers still facing the world today.
December 10, 201702:22 min
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World Stories - Survivor recounts horrors of Hiroshima

This week in World Stories: Survivor recounts horrors of Hiroshima - Rostock-Lichtenhagen: 25 years later - Pro-life activists demand abortion ban in Russia - Tackling tax dodgers in Greece
August 26, 201712:01 min
Hiroshima Erinnerung an Atombombenabwurf vor 72 Jahren

Japan marks Hiroshima anniversary

Japan has marked the 72nd anniversary of the US nuclear attack on the city of Hiroshima.
ConflictsAugust 6, 2017
Masaaki Osaka

Japan murder suspect arrested - after 45 years

The man was identified after a DNA test. It was the longest time a suspect was on the run in Japanese history.
CrimeJune 8, 2017
US Präsident Barack Obama in Tokio Japan

No apology for Pearl Harbor attack

Japan's Abe will honor the "souls of those who died in the war" with US President Barack Obama in Pearl Harbor.
PoliticsDecember 6, 2016
Japan Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck in Nagasaki

Gauck pays respects to Nagasaki victims

The 1945 tragedy was 'unnecessary' and still serves as a warning for our time, Gauck said.
HistoryNovember 18, 2016
A woman mourns for the dead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japan marks 71st anniversary of Hiroshima

Japan has marked the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, with leaders calling for a nuclear-free world.
August 6, 2016