Hiroshima Anniversary 2013: Memorial Service Held in Japan to Mark 68th Anniversary of Bombing

In Japan nearly 50,000 people gathered at the Peace Memorial Park on Tuesday for a somber commemorative service to observe the 68^th anniversary of the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

According to a report from UPI.com, representatives from 70 countries attended the event, along with Japanese citizens and survivors of the Hiroshima bombing, called "hibakusha."

Many lit candles and prayed as Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave a speech on the tragedy and Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui condemned the current administration for efforts aimed at involving Japan in nuclear-related activities in his own speech.

At 8:15 a.m. local time a peace bell tolled in memory of the moment that the "Little Boy" nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

"On this very morning 68 years ago, a single bomb deprived many more than 100,000 people of their precious lives," Abe said. "Those who survived were forced to endure unspeakable hardships of illness and disability and tribulations in their daily lives."

"We Japanese are the only people to have experienced the horror of nuclear devastation in war. As such a people, we bear a responsibility to bring about 'a world without nuclear weapons' without fail."

Following Abe's comments, Matsui gave his own mayoral address in the form of a traditional peace declaration speech, which criticized the Abe administration for considering the sale of Japanese nuclear power technology to India, one of four countries that have refused to sign the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, according to a report from the Christian Science Monitor.

"The government's ongoing negotiations may bring economic benefits to Japan and India, but they will hamper efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons," Matsui said.

He added that atomic bombs are "the ultimate inhumane weapon and an absolute evil," and emphasized the benefits for Japan in enhancing ties with nations that also seek to abolish nuclear weapons, according to reports.

"Hiroshima is a place that embodies the grand pacification of the Japanese Constitution," Matsui said. "We urge the national government to rapidly develop and implement a responsible energy policy that places top priority on safety and the livelihoods of the people."

In addition to criticizing the negotiations over nuclear power technology trades, Matsui also admonished the administration's plans to consider restarting Japan's nuclear reactors, which have been offline since a tsunami caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011.

Upwards of 100,000 people are reportedly still displaced due to the disaster. Additionally, the plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. recently unveiled information showing that large quantities of radioactive materials have been leaking into the ocean non-stop since the incident occurred.