More than 90 countries were represented at a ceremony in Nagasaki’s Peace Park, where participants observed a moment of silence at 11:02 a.m., the time the United States dropped the plutonium bomb known as “Fat Man” on Aug. 9, 1945.

The anniversary comes as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government moves to expand Japan’s military capabilities, intensifying debate over how the country can pursue nuclear disarmament while relying on U.S. extended nuclear deterrence for its security.

Nagasaki mayor challenges nuclear deterrence

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki used the anniversary ceremony to challenge the idea that nuclear weapons provide dependable security through deterrence.

Suzuki described nuclear weapons as “absolute evil” and argued that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrated the risks of relying on a strategy in which nuclear weapons are intended to prevent conflict.

He called on leaders of nuclear-armed states and countries that depend on nuclear deterrence to recognize what he described as the growing risk of nuclear war.

Suzuki also urged the Japanese government to uphold the country’s war-renouncing Constitution, participate in a review conference later this year for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and maintain Japan’s three non-nuclear principles.

The position reflects a longstanding tension in Japan’s security policy: the country is the only nation to have experienced atomic bombings during wartime while also relying on the United States for extended nuclear deterrence.

Takaichi maintains cautious nuclear position

Takaichi attended the Nagasaki ceremony and said Japan would continue pursuing what she described as a realistic and pragmatic approach toward achieving a world without nuclear weapons.

Her government supports Japan’s principles against possessing and developing nuclear weapons, but she has been less explicit about the third non-nuclear principle, which opposes allowing nuclear weapons to be introduced into Japan.

That position has fueled speculation over whether Japan’s changing defense policy could eventually lead to adjustments in its approach to the principle.

Takaichi did not mention the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in her ceremony speech. Japan has not signed the treaty because of its reliance on the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

She later told reporters that Japan would continue working through the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty framework and determine its approach to the nuclear weapons ban treaty based on what the government considers most effective for national security and nuclear disarmament.

Atomic bomb survivors warn of fading memories

The debate comes as the number of atomic bomb survivors, known as hibakusha, continues to decline.

The number of survivors has fallen to 91,105, about one-quarter of the original number, while their average age has risen above 86. Survivors have warned that firsthand memories of the atomic bombings could gradually disappear as the generation that experienced them grows smaller.

Some survivors have also criticized Japan’s reliance on nuclear deterrence, arguing that it conflicts with the country’s historical experience of atomic warfare.

Protests have been held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki amid concerns that the government could weaken its longstanding non-nuclear principles.

Japan balances disarmament and national security

The Nagasaki anniversary highlights the challenge facing Japan as it attempts to reconcile its nuclear disarmament identity with a more expansive defense policy and continued reliance on the United States.

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, killing about 140,000 people by the end of that year. Three days later, the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, where about 70,000 people were killed by the end of 1945.

Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II and bringing an end to decades of Japanese military expansion across Asia.

For the government, the central policy challenge is balancing its commitment to nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament with the security requirements it sees as necessary in an increasingly uncertain regional environment.

For Nagasaki’s survivors and nuclear abolition advocates, the anniversary remains a reminder of the human consequences of nuclear warfare. Japan’s evolving defense policy is likely to keep that tension at the center of its security and diplomatic debate.

This report is based on reporting by The Associated Press.

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IKITSUKI, Japan — On a quiet, remote island in Nagasaki Prefecture, a small group of believers gathers to worship in a way few outside their community understand. They are Japan’s Hidden Christians, guardians of a rare, centuries-old faith tradition they call the “Closet God.”

In a modest room no larger than a tatami mat, they venerate scroll paintings that don’t look like typical Christian icons. One shows a kimono-clad woman resembling a Buddhist Bodhisattva holding a child — to outsiders, a Buddhist image, but for them, a secret symbol of Mary and baby Jesus. Another scroll depicts a man wearing a camellia-covered kimono, alluding to John the Baptist’s martyrdom. There’s even a ceramic bottle of holy water from Nakaenoshima, where Hidden Christians were brutally persecuted in the 1620s.

The catch? None of these symbols scream “Christianity.” That’s precisely why they exist — they were disguised to survive over 250 years of deadly persecution by Japan’s isolationist rulers.

A Hidden Faith Born of Persecution and Persistence

Christianity arrived in 16th-century Japan with Jesuit missionaries who quickly won converts, especially in Kyushu, the southern island where Nagasaki’s trading ports flourished. By some estimates, hundreds of thousands embraced the new faith.

But the shoguns soon saw Christianity as a threat. From 1614, brutal crackdowns forced believers underground. Foreign missionaries were expelled, and thousands of Christians were killed.

For more than two centuries, these Kakure Kirishitan — or Hidden Christians — secretly nurtured their faith, adapting it to survive. They disguised Christian symbols as Buddhist or Shinto icons and created rituals blending old prayers with new meanings.

When the ban lifted in 1865, some returned openly to Catholicism. But many continued practicing their secret version, handed down through generations.

Living Relics of a Vanished Japan

Today on Ikitsuki and nearby islands, Hidden Christians still worship in their ancient way. They chant in archaic Latin mixed with Japanese, a language almost lost outside their community. Their prayers honor not only Jesus and Mary but also their ancestors — a reflection of how their faith interwove with local traditions.

Masatsugu Tanimoto, 68, one of the few remaining men who can still recite the Latin chants known as Orasho, says, “I’m afraid we’re the last. It’s sad to see this tradition end with our generation.”

The role of Oji — a local leader who presides over ceremonies like baptisms, funerals, and festivals — is passed around in the community. But these rituals, unchanged for centuries, happen less frequently as the population ages and young people leave for the cities.

A Faith Rooted in Ancestry and Adaptation

Hidden Christians’ survival depended on their ability to hide and adapt. They kept ritual objects secret, passed from household to household, and hid their faith within familiar Buddhist and Shinto customs.

Many refused to return to mainstream Catholicism after persecution ended. Catholic priests required rebaptism and the abandonment of Buddhist altars — a demand that felt like erasing their ancestors’ sacrifices and daily practices.

Tanimoto explains, “I’m not a Christian in the usual sense. Our prayers ask ancestors to protect us. We carry on what our ancestors believed, not just worship Jesus or Mary.”

The Fragile Future of Hidden Christianity

Once numbering around 30,000 in Nagasaki Prefecture during the 1940s, Hidden Christians now number fewer than 100 on Ikitsuki, according to estimates. The last recorded baptism was in 1994. Modern life has fractured the tight-knit farming communities that once sustained the faith.

Shigeo Nakazono, a local folklore expert who has studied Hidden Christians for decades, notes, “In today’s society, growing individualism and a lack of professional religious leaders make it hard to maintain this tradition.”

He has been working to preserve artifacts and record oral histories, trying to save a piece of Japan’s cultural heritage before it’s lost.

Holding On to a Legacy — But for How Long?

Masashi Funabara, 63, leads one of the last remaining Hidden Christian groups in his district. Once nine families strong, now only two remain. “Our ancestors kept the faith in fear of persecution for centuries. When I imagine their suffering, I feel we should not give up easily,” he says.

Funabara, like Tanimoto, hopes to pass the tradition to his children. “Hidden Christianity will likely go extinct eventually, but I want it to live on at least within my family — that’s my small hope.”

Why It Matters

For historians, religious scholars, and the communities themselves, the disappearance of Hidden Christianity is more than the loss of a faith tradition — it’s the fading of a living link to Japan’s tumultuous past, to stories of resilience, adaptation, and cultural blending that challenge our understanding of religion and identity.

As one expert said, “It will be a huge loss — not just for Japan, but for the world.”

If you want to learn more or support efforts to preserve this remarkable faith, many local museums and cultural groups welcome visitors eager to listen and understand these quiet guardians of history.

Source: AP News – ‘A huge loss.’ In remote Nagasaki islands, a rare version of Christianity heads toward extinction

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