UK, US, France may attend Hiroshima bombing anniversary for first time

Tokyo , Wed, 28 Jul 2010 ANI

Tokyo, July 28 (ANI): Britain and the United States are considering sending representatives for the first time to the 65th anniversary ceremony of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

The Telegraph quoted Japanese media reports as saying that John Roos, the US ambassador to Japan, is likely to attend this year's ceremony. He reports also said that Britain is also considering sending a representative.

A record 67 nations will be sending representatives to Hiroshima for this year's memorial ceremony.

France has announced that it will be sending an envoy to the Hiroshima ceremony for the first time, while General Ban Ki Moon, the United Nations Secretary General, has also accepted an invitation to this year's ceremony, making him the first UN chief to attend.

A spokesman from the British Embassy in Tokyo confirmed that an invitation had been received and a formal response would be given in the next few days.

It was on the evening of August 6, 1945, that the US dropped the world's first atomic bomb over Hiroshima city, causing an estimated 166,000 deaths over the subsequent four months.

The Nagasaki bombing took place three days later, before the Japanese announced its surrender to Allied Powers on August 15, bringing to an end the Second World War. (ANI)