On August 6^th, 2024 the Peace Memorial Ceremony was held, where approximately 50,000 people, including hibakusha and bereaved families, gathered to offer prayers for the repose of the victims' souls and for lasting world peace.
　　In the Peace Declaration, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui proclaimed, "policymakers can overcome even critical situations through resolute commitment to dialogue," and appealed for us to determine, as our forebears did, to be united as one with hope in our hearts, and to take collective action so that we will move leaders now relying on nuclear deterrence to shift their policies. Then he declared, "The city of Hiroshima, working with Mayors for Peace, will actively support community endeavors to raise peace consciousness." He also mentioned that the number of annual visitors to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum had reached an all-time high, reflecting growing awareness of peace, and he particularly called on youth, who will lead future generations, to visit Hiroshima and expand their "circle of hope". Furthermore, he urged the Japanese government to participate as an observer at the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to become a party to this treaty.
　　In the following "Address", Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that as the only country to have experienced the horror of nuclear devastation in war, Japan has the mission of steadily building up efforts over time towards the realization of a world without nuclear weapons. He further stated, "Working in tandem with hibakusha and others eager to bring about a world without nuclear weapons, Japan is determined to continue to do its utmost to pass down to the next generation messages from hibakusha as well as the tragic realities of the atomic bombings."
　　At this ceremony, a message from UN Secretary-General António Guterres was read by UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu. The Secretary-General said, "The lessons of Hiroshima, which once guided our collective efforts towards disarmament and peace, have been pushed aside." Then it was stated that the dedication of the people of Hiroshima guides our own efforts at the United Nations to keep alive the lessons of 1945; lessons including, "any use of a nuclear weapon will have catastrophic humanitarian consequences," and "the only path to eliminate the threats posed by nuclear weapons is to eliminate them altogether."
　　In his Peace Message, Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki stated that as long as nuclear weapons exist, they will surely be used again someday and the abolition of nuclear weapons is a pressing and real issue that we should desperately engage in at this moment. Then he pointed out that we must allocate much more resources, including intellectual, human, and financial resources, to related initiatives in order to truly realize the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
　　Children's representatives, Akira Kato and Yuto Ishimaru read out the "Commitment to Peace", saying, "Peace will not come from prayers alone," and "Listening carefully to others, viewing differences as a good thing and reconsidering your perspective, cooperating with friends to accomplish a goal: these are all steps that each of us can take toward peace."