Japan commemorates the bombing of Hiroshima by the United States during the Second World War on this day more than 60 years ago.
About 45 thousand people gathered in Hiroshima to mark the 63rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city, which killed thousands of people and destoyed the city.
Survivors and families of victims assembled at the peace memorial park near "ground zero", the spot where the bomb detonated on August 6, 1945.Dignitaries, including Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda attended the Hiroshima ceremony.
People at the park and throughout the city observed a minute's silence in memory of those who perished. Bells at temples and churches rang and passengers in cars that run throughout the city bowed their heads in remembrance of the dead. The Hiroshima bomb unleashed a mix of shockwaves, heat rays and radiation that killed thousands instantly. Japan surrendered on august 15, 1945, bringing to an end the military aggression that had culminated in its entry into world war two. A total of 243,692 atomic bomb survivors were living in and outside Japan, with their average age 74.6, many of them battling cancers and other long-term effects of the atom bomb.
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