hiroshima awakens to a morning of reflection and prayer on the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb attack in the history of mankind. in this momentous year, fewer witnesses to the attack remain, but its devastation is etched in human memory. tens of thousands of people from across japan and around the world have gathered in hiroshima to look back on this day in 1945. they're playing for the souls of the dead and for world peace. about 55,000 people packed peace

memorial park, aging survivors of the atomic bomb were among them. representatives from a record 100 countries will take part. represent carol rline kennedy attended. washington also sent rose gotmiller. [ bell tolls ] the court observed a moment of silence at 8:15 a.m., 70 years to the minute after the u.s. bomb struck the city. hiroshima mayor placed a list of the victims' name in a senno taf. more than 297,000 people were

from the bomb or later from long-term effects. matt suey called for an end to nuclear arms. >> translator: to co-exist, we must abolish the absolute evil and ultimate inhumanity that are nuclear weapons. now is the time to start taking action. >> the ceremony comes as prime minister shinzo abe aims to reshape national security policy. legislation now under debate would allow japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense. some atomic bomb survivors say the legislation goes against the desire to create a world without nuclear weapons. they're demanding it be withdrawn. abe expressed his commitment to global dialogue. >> translator: japan will continue to seek cooperation from both nuclear armed and

non-nuclear armed countries to do even more to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. since early this morning, people have been coming to pay their respect to those who lost their lives. those offering prayers include bereaved families and survivors of the bombing. >> translator: people covered with burns were begging for water, but i heard that they would die if they drank it. so i didn't give it to them. that's my deepest regret. >> translator: where is the justification for killing people? you can become a hero by killing hundreds of thousands. that's war. >> translator: i hope this message of peace spreads from hiroshima to the rest of the

world on this 70th anniversary and beyond. >> let's now go to nhk at peace memorial park. mennory, what strikes you about this year's 70th anniversary ceremony? >> reporter: well, in this landmark year, people have come from the largest number of countries ever. among the first time participants is an official from afghanistan, a place that is still in turmoil. we should also note that the survivors who now live abroad have been invited by the city here. they visited the mayor, the five are between the ages of 69 and 91 years old, and come from brazil, united states, and south korea. >> translator: we will advocate peace as long as we live. i think that's our duty as

atomic bomb survivors. >> translator: i'm old now and as you can see, i still have a skin disease on this part of my body. atomic bombs should not be allowed to cause any more damage. >> reporter: this site of the peace memorial ceremony, this park, has evolved into spreading the message of peace. those who participated in the ceremony this morning are praying in front of the atomic bomb dome and around the park, many people are visiting the museum. all kinds of efforts are being made from here to keep the memories of the tragic day alive. in one corner of the park, a gigantic drawing went on display at the end of last month.

teenagers, before picking up their paintbrushes, they listened to the story of one survivor who was 6 years old when the bomb was dropped. >> translator: everyone needs to understand the horror of nuclear weapons. it's important for all of us. >> reporter: the group carefully discussed what the drawing should include. they drew images of the past and the future. >> translator: i was able to deepen my understanding of peace by talking about other people. i hope viewers will become aware of the misery of war. and understand why we express hope for the future. >> reporter: all together, over 1,000 local young people drew 14 pictures. the art pieces will be exhibited, not only in different parts of the city, but also be taken overseas.

[ bell tolls ] >> reporter: another project revolves around this statue in the park. it's dedicated to a victim of the bombing who died of leukemia at age 12. she folded paper cranes while praying for her health to return. but her prayers were not answered. folded cranes have become an international symbol of peace. people around the world, still send about 10 million cranes to hiroshima every year. but space at the monument is limited. so not all of them can be permanently displayed. most are kept in storage. though hiroshima city is producing postcards using paper from the cranes. the colors represent the different cranes that traveled the globe to get here. the cards bear a message.

share it -- what happened on august 6, 1945. each visitor to the peace memorial museum is given one postcard. >> translator: i never took the idea of peace seriously. maybe because the subject is too close to home. but when i came here today, i realized we shouldn't take it for granted. i wrote to my friend to urge him to think about peace. >> reporter: this year the museum is seeing an increasing number of overseas visitors. >> a postcard is not just a card. there's a heart behind it. here in this place, my heart is touched deeply in the peace memorial museum of hire of hiro. >> reporter: she sent her card to her daughter back home in denmark. and this the postcard that's being handed out. we met a 10-year-old japanese

girl who outside hiroshima, who stopped by with her family, she told us she was going to give her card to her sick grandfather. as the years go by, the day the bomb devastated hiroshima may be receding into the past, but there are efforts young people can make to ensure it will never be forgotten. >> thanks, minori. >> one survivor has transformed her personal experience into a global campaign. she's revisiting her hometown to reaffirm her vow to tell the world about what people have there suffered. nhk reports. >> reporter: she's long been active in international struggle to abolish nuclear weapons. earlier this year, the 83-year-old survivor made a presentation at the u.n. conference to review the nuclear

non-proliferation treaty. >> i demand the leaders of all nations ban nuclear weapons, ban nuclear weapons now. thank you. [ applause ] >> reporter: she came back to hiroshima this time to pay for those who died in the bombing. >> i just wanted to be with my own people, the spirits of my loved ones who have gone, i just wanted to be back here, here i am, i'm home, and i'm with you. >> reporter: she was reunited with one of her classmates. they visited the place where they were at the time of the bombing. this is the first time she's returned to this area in sencht years.

she was 13 years old and had working at the military facility. when the bomb exploded, she was blinded by a flash and blown by the blast. after regaining consciousness, she went out from the collapsed building, but most of her classmates were trapped and died in the flames. >> translator: i cannot find the words. >> reporter: after graduating from university in hiroshima, she left for the united states in 1954 to study social work. that year, the u.s. tested the hydrogen bomb. that event led her to start speaking out. >> i realized this was not just a tragedy for hiroshima people or nagasaki people. this is a universal problem.

this is the beginning of the nuclear age. and people must learn what kind of world we are living in. >> reporter: after getting married, she moved to canada and began to hold exhibits about nuclear bombing. she also traveled around the world to share her story, but it wasn't always easy. during the cold war, some people saw nuclear weapons as a military necessity. others seemed to be indifferent to the subject. but she, herself, has changed in recent years. a group of non-nuclear states has been leading a movement to ban nuclear arms. last year, she addressed delegates from nearly 160 countries. >> survivors became convinced

that no human being should ever have to repeat our experience of the inhumane, immoral, and cruel atomic bombing. >> reporter: back in her hometown, she visited the place that holds painful memories. her sister and 4-year-old nephew were caught in the nuclear blast. she was with them in the final days. their bodies were burned. she later watched as they were cremated in a ditch near the spot. >> translator: it is unforgivable that innocent children have to suffer from the

cruel acts of adults. we must ensure this never happens again. i cannot forget. i will work hard until the day i die. >> reporter: she's returned to her roots. the visit home has renewed her determination to rid the world of nuclear weapons. nhk world, hiroshima. a high-ranking russian official has denounced the u.s. attack 70 years ago. he said such actions can never be excused.

lower house speaker sergei is a close aide to president putin. he con convenienced a meeting on wednesday to examine the u.s. use of atomic bombs. senior military officials and experts on japan took part. >> translator: the atomic attack by the u.s. has never been deliberated before an international tribunal, but there's no statute of limitations on crimes against humanity. >> reporter: analysts say russia is using the issue to drive a wedge between japan and the u.s. tokyo is engaged in dialogue with moscow to resolve an issue over four northern islands. russia controls the islands. japan claims them. the international community has voiced concern over russia's nuclear policy. in march, putin said they had been preparing to evolve a nuclear weapon. we'll be covering the events in

hiroshima throughout the day. please stay with us. >> we'll move on to other stories we're following this hour. malaysia's prime minister has confirmed that a piece of plane wreckage found on an island in the indian ocean last week, came from a missing malaysian jet liner. the wing part was from a malaysian airlines jet that disappeared in march last year while on a flight from kuala lumpur to beijing.

>> an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on reunion island is indeed from mh 370. >> the aircraft was carrying 239 people when it vanished over the south china sea. this is the first confirmation of a discovery of part of the aircraft. u.n. officials say the number of civilians killed or injured in afghanistan so far this year has hit the worst ever level. the officials spoke at a news conference in kabul. >> in the first six months of 2015, we documented 4,921 civilian casualties, consisting of 1,592 deaths and 3,329 injured. >> the officials say about 70%

of the civilian casualties occurred in attacks by anti-government forces, the taliban, and other insurgents. 15% of those killed or injured were caught up in military operations by the afghan security forces. the u.n. officials urge the taliban to immediately stop targeting civilians. they also demanded the afghan government ensure that its military operations do not affect civilians. the u.n. report shows security has not improved since most of the u.s.-led international troops withdrew from the country last year. security was handed over to afghan authorities. a japanese crew has delivered a patrol ship to vietnam that will be used to oversea the country's offshore fishing grounds.

>> nagai from the japanese embassy in hanoi spoke about the important of maintaining maritime order. >> translator: i hope it will greatly contribute in protecting the safety of fishermen, and the country's sovereignty. it will provide significant assistance for fisheries' patrol authorities. >> japanese embassy officials say another boat has already been handed over to vietnam's maritime police. they say the remaining four vessels will be delivered to the country later this year. the designer of the 2020 tokyo olympics emblem has denied that he copied the logo of a belgian theater. >> translator: i'm very surprised that i'm being accused by the belgian designer of

plagiarism. it's absolutely unfounded. >> he's demanded that the tokyo organizing committee not use the emblem, he said the work closely resembles the logo he created for a theater two years ago. >> translator: i'm confident my design has no parallel in the world. >> he says he only saw the theater logo after the issue came to light. he says that both contain the same elements but the concept behind them are different. a senior organizing official from the committee reiterated there was no problem using the emblem, noting that the belgian logo was not a registered trademark. he said the committee will do its best to convince the belgian designer of the originality of the work. a japanese automaker has put on sale an upscale car for the indian market. ramin has more. >> that's right.

suzuki's operation in india, unveiled in new delhi, a luxury model under a new brand. the carmaker aims to boost its presence in the growing market. they've been making and selling smaller vehicles for id middle income first-time car buyers, but this new model is sold for about $20,000. about three times the average price of the company's existing models. they want to attract customers who want to replace their existing cars with new ones. suzuki's market share in india has drop to 45% from more than 60%. other japanese auto makers and south korea's hyundai, on the other hand, are increasing their market shares. now, some female workers in japan have formed a group to protest revisions to the labor law. they say the bill would stop them being employed full time. ten female temporary workers formed the organization earlier this month. they held a press conference in

tokyo under a condition of anonymity. the bill limits temporary workers to three years on contract. staffing agencies would then need to ask companies to hire them full time. the diet is deliberating over the revisions. the group's leaders say they won't get retirement benefits and that wages are half that of regular employees. the leader wants to block the bill for the next generation. they want to provide consultation services for temporary employees and if necessary offer legal help. indonesia's latest figures suggest a continuing slowdown. they grew 4.6% in the april to june quarter. statistics say the sluggish mining sector is holding back overall growth. indonesia's economy relies heavily to natural resources, especially the mining sector. china's slowdown has also harmed

exports. a fall in commodity pricing has caused slow growth in indonesia to continue alonger than expected. that's all for busy news for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on the markets. ♪ ♪ people across japan are dealing with extreme heat. mai shoji joins us from the weather desk with the details. >> i hope you're not melting down in this heat.

it's been continuous. we're talking about six consecutive days from yesterday. and today might be the seventh, which is a busy day to rewrite the records. 35 degrees in tokyo that hit yesterday and 39.7 degrees is an historical record. even all the way toward the northernmost island of japan, where things should be much cooler, 37 is the record there. tat by yashy hitting almost 40 degrees on our wednesday. unfortunately that heat will be continuing for the daytime and also we're actually seeing some very heavy rainfall due to the daytime heating and the very unstable conditions because we have the cooler air in the upper level. so the difference of the temperatures, about 40 degrees. 120 millimeters fell in one hour yesterday which is an historical record there as well. today we're looking at more of those with thunderstorms accompanied in shikoku. so patches of that will be

happening. for your temperatures, still soaring in the mid 30s here in tokyo and kyoto. a little bit of a cooldown, but not too cool. going to be in the average range at 32 degrees in tokyo for saturday. as for seoul, some thunderstorms. shanghai will continue to see rainfall on saturday. now, let's talk about typhoon sodular. it's going to be a very strong status, even before it pulls into the southwestern island of japan and pulling into taiwan by friday afternoon. possibly making landfall in southeastern china by saturday into sunday, but it will be weakening by that time, which is good news. however, do watch out for damaging winds and rainfall. now, take a look at what we're talking about. this is about 230 millimeters of rainfall into thursday. and on top of that, there's going to be 300 in addition to that in parts of taiwan and as

well as surrounding provinces. yam yama island, waves up to 12 meters high. the stationary boundary here continuing to bring lots of rainfall, about 50 millimeters of rain, and we're looking at some outlook here as follows. now i know it's the summer vacation season, so people want to be outdoors, but if you're in the dakotas and parts of lower mississippi, watch out for the black clouds coming your way. i'll leave you now for your extended forecast. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm kathrcatherine kobayashi in tokyo. we'll be back at the top of the hour. see you then. ♪ ♪

dr. lekutat: hello and welcome to in good shape, coming to you from berlin, great that you can join us today. lets start this show with a question -- how much sunblocker do you need to cover your face? is it like this? or a little bit more like this? or like this? well find out the right answer later in this show. and heres what else we have coming up on the show. slather it on? how even suncreams can harm the skin. donor organ -- livg