On this significant Atomic Bomb Day, marking 80 years since the bombing, we solemnly gather for the Hiroshima University Memorial Service Address to honor the victims of the atomic bombing. On behalf of Hiroshima University, we solemnly offer our heartfelt condolences to the souls of the faculty members, staff, students, and pupils who fell victim to the atomic bomb.

This year, we are honored to welcome not only bereaved families and members of the university community, but also university presidents from around the world. I sincerely thank each of you for attending today’s ceremony.

Earlier, we added 13 names, confirmed during the past year, to the ‘Hiroshima University Monument in Memory of the Atomic Bomb Victims’, making a total of 2,112 people. On that fateful day, many of the university’s predecessor schools were reduced to ashes, and with them, countless young lives and places of learning were lost. We must never forget the sorrow and injustice of such loss.

Yesterday, beneath the grounds of our Kasumi Campus, a second wartime artillery shell was discovered. Once a site where weapons were stockpiled, this place has now become a center for life-saving medicine. Hiroshima University has transformed itself—from a place once associated with harm to one dedicated to healing.

Yesterday, a charity concert for peace was held by Michie Nakamaru, and this afternoon, we will host the University Presidents for Peace Conference, welcoming university leaders from across the globe. It is the role of universities to foster sustainable peace through reason and dialogue.

Today, with the average age of atomic bomb survivors now exceeding 86 years old, and as we approach an era without living hibakusha, Hiroshima University is intensifying its efforts to pass on the reality of the atomic bombing to younger generations. This year, more than 140 students from 16 countries have visited Hiroshima through our Peace Study Tour.

With a firm belief in ‘the pursuit of peace’, we at Hiroshima University pledge to remain a university dedicated to the realization of a peaceful world and the well-being of all humanity. I offer these words in remembrance of those we honor today.

6th August Reiwa 7 (2025)
Mitsuo Ochi
President of Hiroshima University