Residents in the Japanese city of Hiroshima are preparing to mark 70 years since the first atomic bomb was dropped on their city by a US aircraft. A ceremony, attended by PM Shinzo Abe, will be held at Hiroshima's memorial park before thousands of lanterns are released on the city's Motoyasu river. Read more
The 'sanitised narrative' of Hiroshima's atomic bombing
The US has always insisted that the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were necessary to end World War Two. But it is a narrative that has little emphasis on the terrible human cost. Read more
One of the few remaining trams which survived the Hiroshima bomb has been restored to mark the 70th anniversary of the attack. The vehicle has been repainted in its original colours - blue and grey - and carries video testimonies from survivors, Read more
Hiroshima in Japan is marking the 66th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack. The city holds a peace memorial ceremony every year to remember those who lost their lives and to pray for world peace. See more
The Japanese city of Hiroshima is marking the 65th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack. For the first time, a representative of the United States, which dropped the bomb on the city, is attending. Read more
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chgoku region of western Honsh, the largest island of Japan. It became the first city in history destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15am on August 6, 1945, near the end of World War II. Read more
Japan's defence minister has resigned following comments about the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb attacks on the country that outraged survivors and drew criticism from the ruling bloc ahead of a key election in July. Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma said he had not meant to offend the victims when he said on Saturday that the bombings "couldn't be helped" because they had brought World War Two to an end and prevented the Soviet Union from entering the war against Japan. The remarks drew condemnation from victims of the August 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima and the August 9 attack on Nagasaki, which together killed more than 210,000 people by the end of the year. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the bombings "an unforgivable act".
The Japanese city of Nagasaki is preparing to mark the anniversary of its destruction by a US atomic bomb at the end of World War Two. Sixty years ago an American B-29 plane dropped the bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" for its rotund shape.
Controversy still remains as to why the attack happened just three days after the bombing of the city of Hiroshima. Some believe that the attack enabled the American military to test the plutonium bomb as a nuclear weapon.
Today, 60 years ago, the atomic bomb named "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima by the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 bomber, at 8:15 in the morning of August 6, 1945.