August, that most searing of months, compels us to reflect on the atom. Japan was atom-bombed twice in August 67 years ago, and Hiroshima since 1952 and Nagasaki since 1955 have hosted solemn anniversary ceremonies to keep the memory alive in the hope of preventing similar horror and folly in future.

Inevitably over the years the occasion has degenerated into recitations of pious platitudes, of which Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's this year in Hiroshima are fairly representative: "As the only country to have experienced the horror of nuclear devastation in war, Japan bears a noble and grave responsibility to pass on the memory of our tragic experiences to future generations and to see to it that the passion and desire for action to realize a world without nuclear weapons spreads all over the world."

Japan, complacent beneath the American nuclear umbrella, has in fact contributed remarkably little to the cause of nuclear disarmament. Note, besides, Noda's reference to "nuclear devastation in war," and what that leaves unsaid — namely, nuclear devastation in peace.