Japan on Wednesday commemorated the victims of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki 78 years ago with an appeal to nuclear-armed states.

Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki said nuclear-armed nations should “show courage’’ and move away from the idea of nuclear deterrence.

The mayor’s statement came during a memorial ceremony significantly reduced in size due to a typhoon.

Due to the storm, guests from home and abroad, including Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, could not attend the ceremony in person.

For the first time since 1963, the commemoration was not held in the Peace Park but in an exhibition hall in the city.

A moment of silence was observed at the ceremony at 11:02 a.m. (0202 GMT) to mark the time on August 9, 1945, when the ‘Fat Man’ atomic bomb dropped by the U.S. exploded over Nagasaki.

In Nagasaki alone, about 70,000 people were killed by the direct impact, while 75,000 others were injured.

Three days before, the U.S. devastated Hiroshima with another atomic bomb.

Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945.

(dpa/NAN)