Prime Minister Naoto Kan attended the annual Nagasaki Peace Ceremony held in the Peace Park in Nagasaki City.

Approximately 5,600 people including atomic bomb victims and bereaved family members, as well as representatives of 32 nations -- the largest number of nations ever -- attended the ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing, praying for the repose of the souls of the war dead. This was also the first time that representatives of the United Kingdom and the French Republic, nuclear weapon states, attended the ceremony.

Mr. Tomihisa Taue, Mayor of Nagasaki City, and the representatives of the bereaved family members and the atomic bomb victims placed at the site the list of the names of the atomic bomb victims who had been confirmed dead in the past year. The representatives of the bereaved family members, the atomic bomb victims, and the local elementary, junior high, and high school students offered water. Mayor Taue, Prime Minister Kan, and other guests then offered wreathes.
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, the recital of the Promise for Peace by Mr. Yasunobu Uchida, the representative of the atomic bomb victims, and the choral singing by students from Yamazato Elementary School in Nagasaki City, Prime Minister Kan delivered an address.

The Prime Minister said, "The horror caused by nuclear weapons should never be repeated. I firmly believe that Japan, as the only country to have experienced nuclear devastation in war, has a moral responsibility to lead actions toward realizing 'a world without nuclear weapons.' I will take advantage of various opportunities to appeal the importance of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation to world leaders, including the leaders of nuclear weapon states. I am resolved to proactively propose forward-looking, concrete steps, and to contribute to consensus building in the international community. Moreover, I pledge that Japan will observe its Constitution and firmly maintain the Three Non-Nuclear Principles for the sake of the elimination of nuclear weapons and the realization of eternal world peace."

After the ceremony, the Prime Minister together with Mr. Akira Nagatsuma, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, attended a meeting to listen to requests by representatives of atomic bomb victims held at a hotel in Nagasaki City. After receiving a letter of request from atomic bomb victims' organizations, the Prime Minister had talks with the representatives from five atomic bomb victims' organizations and others, following which he attended a press conference.

Afterwards, the Prime Minister visited a nursing home for atomic bomb survivors in Nagasaki, the Hill of Grace Nagasaki A-Bomb Home.