About 5,600 participants including atomic bomb victims, bereaved family members, and Prime Minister Fukuda attended the ceremony marking the 63rd anniversary of the atomic bombing. The list of the names of the atomic bomb victims who had been confirmed dead in the past year was placed at the site. The representatives of atomic bomb victims; bereaved family members; and students from local elementary, junior, and high schools offered water, and Mr. Tomihisa Taue, Mayor of Nagasaki City, Prime Minister Fukuda and other guests offered flowers.

The Bell of Nagasaki was rung at 11:02 a.m., when the atomic bomb was dropped, and the participants prayed in silence for a minute. Following Mayor Taue's Peace Declaration and the recital of the Promise for Peace by Ms. Shigeko Mori, the representative of the atomic bomb victims, Prime Minister Fukuda delivered an address.

Prime Minister Fukuda said, "The Government of Japan has been committed to the path of international peace throughout its post-war history. Japan has held firm in its determination, as the only country to have experienced nuclear devastation, that the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki should never be repeated. Following this path, we have attained prosperity. Here today, on the soil of Nagasaki, I pledge once again that Japan will firmly maintain the Three Non-Nuclear Principles and lead the international community toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons and the realization of a permanent peace."

After the ceremony, the Prime Minister held a press conference at a hotel in Nagasaki City, together with Mr. Yoichi Masuzoe, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, and said, "I would like to ask the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to consider what the central government can do by listening to the opinions of atomic bomb victims."

Then Prime Minister Fukuda met with representatives of atomic bomb victims' organizations, listened to their requests, and received a letter of request from them. The Prime Minister said, "Listening to your valuable opinions, I was once again reminded of the horror of nuclear weapons and further strengthened my resolve to do the utmost to ensure that the world will be free of such horror in the future." Also, on the system of recognizing atomic bomb diseases, he responded, "I am asking the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for earnest consideration in light of your opinions."

Later on, Prime Minister Fukuda visited a nursing home for atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki, the Hill of Grace Nagasaki A-Bomb Home, and gave his greeting, saying, "I will commit myself to making sure that the tragedy of nuclear destruction will never be repeated. It was truly regrettable that the atomic bomb, the ultimate weapon, was dropped here 63 years ago. The atomic bomb has not been used since then, and we must eliminate all possibilities of its use in the future. Bearing in mind the hardships borne by the people of Nagasaki, we and future generations must join hands for world peace. And that is what I take as my mission as the leader of the country."

• Address by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda at the Nagasaki Peace Ceremony