Attendees included dignitaries from 68 countries, including nuclear states such as the United States and Russia. Nagasaki Mayor Taue Tomihisa applauded the a-bomb survivors to show respect and gratitude for having told their stories. He criticized that the nuclear-weapon states are taking too much time to achieve nuclear disarmament.

Nagasaki Mayor Taue Tomihisa / The novel coronavirus disease, global warming and the problem of nuclear weapons share one thing in common. They affect all of us who live on this earth. Let us clear a path to a world free of nuclear weapons and walk down it together.

The mayor also urged the central Japanese government to join a UN pact on the prohibition of nuclear arms. But Prime Minister Abe Shinzo did not refer to the treaty in his address. He said Japan will continue efforts toward achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.

Over the past year, 3,406 people who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki died, bringing the total number of victims to 185,982.