Hot Topics

The mayors of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki handed peace seeds to Oslo

Oslo.The mayors of Hiroshima Kazumi Matsui,and Nagasaki Tomihisa Taue.Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB scanpix

Saturday seeds from trees that survived the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were given to the Botanical Garden in Oslo by the mayors of the two Japanese cities.

 

A delegation of about 20 survivors from the bombing participated in the peace seed ceremony that took place in the Botanical Garden in Oslo on Saturday afternoon.

Nagasaki’s mayor Tomihisa Taue and Hiroshima’s mayor Kazumi Matsui handed over the seeds. Together with Oslo City Council leader Raymond Johansen (Ap) and Svein Stølen, Rector at the University of Oslo, they planted the seeds in pots.

The ceremony took place in connection with the year’s Peace Prize Award. Which is awarded to the ICAN organization, which is an international cooperation on banning nuclear weapons.

On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped the uranium bomb, Little Boy, over Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, the plutonium bomb, Fat Man was dropped over Nagasaki. This bomb was more powerful than the first, but due to the geography of the area, it caused less destruction.

The exact deaths resulting from the two atomic bombs are not known. It is estimated that around 160,000 people died in Hiroshima. In Nagasaki it is estimated that 50,000 to 80,000 died in total. Neither before nor since nuclear weapons have been used in war.

The peace prize ceremony will take place on Sunday 10 December.

 

NTB Scanpix / Norway Today