Hiroshima marks 81st anniversary of atomic bomb attack

Hiroshima on Thursday marked the 81st anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the western Japanese city.

A minute of silence was held while a peace bell rang out at 8:15 a.m., the time when a US B-29 dropped the bomb on the city.

Sanae Takaichi, Japan's Prime Minister, who attended the memorial for the first time as prime minister, said she will take "realistic practical initiatives" toward achieving a world without nuclear weapons, while seeking to strengthen the United Nations' treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

"The devastation caused by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the indescribable suffering endured by so many people, must never be repeated," Takaichi said.

This year's ceremony comes at a time of looming speculation that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's hawkish government, which supports the idea of nuclear deterrence, may ease Japan's postwar non-nuclear principles when it compiles new security and defence documents later this year.