Eighty years after the devastating atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Mayor Shiro Suzuki used the city's annual peace ceremony to issue a stark warning about the escalating threat of nuclear war. Speaking at the Nagasaki Peace Park on Saturday, Suzuki declared that the "existential crisis of humanity has become imminent to each and every one of us."

In a somber peace declaration, the mayor painted a bleak picture of a world caught in a "vicious cycle of confrontation and fragmentation." The ceremony, held near the hypocenter of the 1945 blast, was attended by representatives from 94 countries and regions.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, also in attendance, reaffirmed Japan's unwavering commitment to its non-nuclear principles, vowing that the nation would not possess, produce, or permit the introduction of nuclear weapons. Ishiba pledged that Japan would spearhead global efforts to achieve "a world without nuclear war and a world without nuclear weapons."

The commemoration marks the moment on August 9, 1945, when the United States dropped the plutonium bomb, "Fat Man," on the port city, killing an estimated 74,000 people. This attack, which followed the bombing of Hiroshima, led to Japan's formal surrender on August 15, 1945, and the end of World War II.

This year's event saw a slight drop in attendance compared to last year's record of 100 countries and regions. The previous year's ceremony was overshadowed by controversy when Nagasaki excluded Israel, prompting a boycott from the U.S. and other G7 ambassadors. According to Anadolu Agency, the city chose to extend invitations to all nations with diplomatic missions in Japan for this year's observance.