As Japan marked the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this month, the mayors of the two cities urged world leaders to follow in the footsteps of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Hiroshima in May, and act to rid the world of nuclear arms.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has echoed the mayors' calls, but has stopped short of putting forward concrete steps for abolishing nuclear weapons, attracting criticism from atomic bomb survivors and peace activists.
This is not the first time that Hiroshima and Nagasaki have called on leaders to visit and listen to the accounts of survivors, but the calls this year were stronger than ever as the cities believe such visits can be used as a springboard to realize their goal of a world without nuclear weapons.