Today, August 6, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the United States dropping the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan, at 8:15 a.m. in 1945, killing an estimated 80,000 people instantly and up to 166,000 by year’s end due to burns, injuries, and radiation sickness, according to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and National WWII Museum. The B-29 bomber Enola Gay, flown by Colonel Paul Tibbets, unleashed a 15-kiloton uranium bomb, leveling four square miles of the city, a key military hub with 280,000–290,000 civilians and 43,000 soldiers. Three days later, on August 9, the U.S. dropped “Fat Man” on Nagasaki, killing 40,000–80,000, leading to Japan’s surrender on August 15, ending World War II.
The bombings, authorized by President Harry Truman after Japan ignored the Potsdam Declaration’s surrender demand, aimed to avoid a costly invasion of Japan, where 560,000 troops were poised on Kyushu, per the National WWII Museum. However, the decision sparked debate, with some historians arguing it also served to deter Soviet expansion, as Truman sought to limit Moscow’s influence in Japan. Hibakusha survivors, like Setsuko Thurlow, who spoke at ICAN’s 2017 Nobel Peace Prize lecture, highlight the human toll, with 38,000 children among the dead and long-term effects like leukemia and cancers. A 2024 Kyodo News survey showed 80.2% of hibakusha support Japan joining the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of nuclear weapons, reflecting ongoing calls for disarmament.
