Amid growing aversion to the use of nuclear energy in Japan, officials calling for the elimination of nuclear arms at anniversary rites in Hiroshima have been obliged to also call for a safer energy policy for the country.

The city was devastated by a US atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, in the final days of World War II, with Nagasaki the second city to be hit three days later.

The Hiroshima event yesterday comes nearly 11/2 years after a quake and tsunami triggered a nuclear plant disaster in Fukushima prefecture, releasing massive amounts of radioactive materials.

Speaking at the city’s Peace Memorial Park, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said: “The government will continue to call for the importance of a world free from nuclear weapons and will support activities to hand down the memories of atomic-bomb sufferers beyond borders and generations ...”

Referring to the Fukushima disaster, he added: “Under a basic policy of eliminating dependence on nuclear energy, the government will seek an energy mix that will give our people peace of mind in the medium to long term.”

Noda was joined by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, who urged the government to establish “without delay” an energy policy that protects the livelihood and the security of the people. But the mayor stopped short of commenting on the use of nuclear energy in Japan.

Earlier, at 8:15 a.m., the time the bomb was dropped on the city 67 years ago, they joined an estimated 50,000 in observing a minute of silence for Hiroshima’s victims. The victims, including those who died from radiation-induced illnesses, now number 280,959.

Survivors, who are an average of 78 years old, and their relatives were seen drifting into the memorial park way before dawn.

The ceremony itself was held in the open under a scorching sun, while anti-nuclear groups demonstrated quietly on the fringe.

Representatives from 71 countries, including nuclear powers, were also in attendance, among them United States Ambassador John Roos and Clifton Truman Daniel, a grandson of the late U.S. president Harry Truman who ordered the atomic bombings.

Also present was Mayor Tamotsu Baba of Namie, a community near the damaged Fukushima reactors, which remains a ghost town as its residents were forced to evacuate. The mayor said he went to Hiroshima to draw lessons from atomic-bomb survivors who suffered radiation sickness.

After the Fukushima disaster, many Japanese have become more concerned about radiation- induced health problems.

The government has promised to draw up a new energy policy by the end of this month that would include the percentage contribution of nuclear power to the nation’s total energy output in 2030. (ANN)