Survivors of atomic bombing of Hiroshima joined its citizens Sunday to call for eternal peace one week before observing the 55th anniversary of the attack.
About 250 participants, including survivors of the Aug. 6, 1945, bombing circled the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima City, displaying about 1,200 ribbons bearing messages such as "stop nuclear tests."
The event was sponsored by Hiroshima Heiwa no Ribbon no Kai, the Hiroshima Association of Peace Ribbons, and is held once every five years. Sunday's event was the third time it has been held.
At the gathering, 74-year-old Reiko Kato of the group read the peace ribbon declaration, saying, "in the 21st century, we should learn lessons from Hiroshima and make efforts for the creation of permanent peace."
At 8:15 a.m., the time the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima, students of municipal Koihigashi elementary school and girl scouts observed a moment of silence.
Maiko Tanaka, 11, and others vowed peace, saying they wanted to hold discussions in order to help prevent war and nuclear weapons.
Records show that more than 240,000 people died in the bombing of Hiroshima.