BEIJING, Aug. 10 -- August 9 marks the 60th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Japan's southern city of Nagasaki. More than six-thousand people from all walks of life in Japan have taken part in the ceremony, held at Nagasaki's Peace Memorial Park.

    Survivors of the world's second atomic attack, students who have only learned about the bombing in school and leaders of the country like Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi bowed their heads in remembrance of the tens of thousands who perished in a split second.

    A bronze bell rang out over Nagasaki at 11:02 AM local time... the precise moment six decades ago when an atomic bomb was dropped on the city. Wreaths of white and yellow chrysanthemums were placed on the alter.

    Japan's embattled prime minister, who has come under severe criticism from Asian countries for paying homage at a Tokyo war shrine that houses Class-A war criminals, reiterated that his country was committed to world peace and against nuclear weapons.

    Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said, "With the firm decision not to ever let the tragedies of Nagasaki and Hiroshima be repeated, we will adhere to a pacifist constitution and uphold the three rules for non-nuclearization. We will also take the lead in non-proliferation in the world and make efforts for the abolishment of nuclear weapons."

    The Mayor of Nagasaki, Iccho Itoh, also attended the ceremony. He criticized the United States for its militaristic stance and called for peace.

    Despite some politicians breaking a decades-old taboo to suggest Japan should possess nuclear arms, the pacifist push still runs strong in Nagasaki.

    60 years have passed since the nuclear attack, but the remains of thousands of the dead have never been found. Estimates of the death toll range from sixty to eighty thousand. And in the past year, more than 2,700 people have died due to the residual effects of the bomb.

    (Source:cctv.com)