YEREVAN, AUGUST 6, ARMENPRESS. Japan paid tribute to the memory of the victims of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, which claimed lives of tens of thousands of people 73 years ago, TASS reports.

The memorial ceremony is currently taking place in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in the center of the city.

A moment of silence was traditionally announced throughout the country at exactly 08:15 local time - the time when an atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

“We must achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. Renunciation of nuclear weapons should become a common value for all people around the world”, Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of the city of Hiroshima, said.

This year the memorial ceremony is attended by representatives of 85 countries.

According to various estimates, the explosion of the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima, in one day killed between 70,000 and 100,000 people. By the end of 1945, the number of victims had increased to 140,000 due to those who died in hospitals from wounds and radiation.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan