Photo/Illutration The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is celebrated with candles in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima on Jan. 22, the day when the treaty took effect. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

An event called Heiwa Fukkosai (peace revival festival) was held in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1946, exactly one year after the atomic bombing of the city.

Aside from praying for the repose of the souls of the victims, the event was apparently meant to be celebratory, highlighted by a streetcar decked out with flowers and a fancy-dress procession.

The manager of the Okayama branch of Chugoku Haiden (present-day Chugoku Electric Power Co.), who was visiting Hiroshima that day, noted in his account that there were also young girls parading in the streets in their Sunday best, as well as live samisen and “taiko” drum performances.

The visitor appeared to have felt at odds with the occasion.

“What on earth could have possessed the people of Hiroshima to engage in this revelry?” the manager wrote incredulously, according to “Hiroshima Sengo-shi” (Hiroshima’s postwar history), written by historian Satoru Ubuki.

Japan was under Allied occupation, and it was taboo to criticize the U.S. atomic bombing of the city. I also imagine people were more eager to focus on reconstruction than on the damage.

Still, the nature of the event could not have been more dissimilar to how the tragedy is commemorated today on the anniversary of the atomic bombing.

It has taken a long time to nurture the understanding that nuclear weapons represent an “absolute evil.”

The shock of U.S. hydrogen bomb testing at Bikini Atoll brought back harrowing memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Many works of so-called atomic bomb literature and personal accounts and testimonies of hibakusha have deeply moved and shaken people.

These developments eventually led to the birth of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The treaty, which took effect in January, has been ratified by 55 nations and regions.

Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima now residing in Canada, called it “the beginning of the end for nuclear weapons.”

Sadly, the Japanese government continues to snub this treaty as if to keep pace with the United States, a nuclear power.

At the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima today, I wonder if the prime minister will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and not even mention the treaty in his message.

The nation’s leader might be oblivious to the fact that the occupation days of having to curry favor with the United States are long gone.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 6

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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