On August 9, 1945, 78 years ago today, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the civilian population of Nagasaki, just three days after the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The same horrific "inferno" reappeared on Earth as in Hiroshima.

Nagasaki is the city with the closest ties to Christianity in Japan. The U.S., a "Christian nation," dropped an atomic bomb on that city. The teachings of Jesus Christ, who preached love for mankind, "Love thy neighbor as thyself" and "Love thine enemies," were cruelly trampled on.

The statue of the Virgin Mary of Urakami Cathedral, destroyed and burned by the atomic bomb, conveys the deep suffering and sorrow of the citizens of Nagasaki and the horror of the human ego running amok, along with the testimonies of the “Hibakusha” (survivors of the atomic bomb).

On this “Nagasaki Day,” I would like you to think more seriously than ever about what every one of us can do to prevent the dropping of atomic bombs anywhere in the future.

（References)

Atom-bombed Mary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom-bombed_Mary
Head of the Virgin Mary
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/head-of-the-virgin-mary
Mary’s scarred face of war
https://www.thecompassnews.org/2020/09/marys-scarred-face-of-war/
Urakami Bombed Mary Statue
https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/u/urakami-bombed-mary-statue.php
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Tsutomu Yamaguch: The Man Who Survived Both Atomic Bombs
https://www.tokyoweekender.com/japan-life/news-and-opinion/tsutomu-yamaguchi-man-who-survived-atomic-bombs/
Sumiteru Taniguchi (a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumiteru_Taniguchi
NAHP Sumiteru Taniguchi, Former Chairman of Nagasaki Council of A-Bomb Sufferers
https://youtu.be/ACu4prtWXpc
Hibakusha memoir 'The Atomic Bomb on My Back' to be published in English
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/07/23/history/hibakusha-memoir-english/
THE POSTMAN OF NAGASAKI
https://www.amazon.co.jp/POSTMAN-NAGASAKI-Peter-Townsend/dp/4915743209
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Nagasaki marks 78th anniversary of atomic bombing with mayor urging world to abolish nuclear weapons
https://youtu.be/Zgcvy58OQaE
Springfield event commemorates the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima
https://youtu.be/IBRvIOiMeaE