Nagasaki Memorial Day

Nagasaki Memorial Day for the year 2023 is celebrated/observed on Wednesday, August 9th. There are until the next observance.

Nagasaki Memorial Day is celebrated yearly on August 9 in Nagasaki, Japan, to remember the victims of the WWII atomic attack. Nagasaki was the second city to be bombed, following the city of Hiroshima three days earlier. So far, Japan is the only country that has been attacked with nuclear weapons during a war. The United Nations General Assembly ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017, which provides a comprehensive set of bans on participating in any nuclear weapon activity. The treaty went into effect on January 22, 2021.

📆 When is Nagasaki Memorial Day?

This year, Nagasaki Memorial Day is on August 9th. It is the 2nd Wednesday in August; in 2024, it is on Friday.

→ Did you know: Nagasaki was a fishing hamlet with limited historical significance until the 1550s, when it became an important commercial port.

You can also view all fun things you didn’t know about and facts about August 9, 2023.

📜 History of Nagasaki Memorial Day

On August 9, 1945, three days after the initial strike, the US bomber Bockscar dropped the Fat Man bomb on Nagasaki. The bomb had the equivalent of 22,000 tons of TNT. The explosion had a terrible impact on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. More people perished subsequently as a result of burns, radiation illness, and other ailments. However, because Nagasaki was tucked in narrow valleys between mountains and had a smaller population, the bomb’s effect was minimized. On August 15, 1945, following the second bombing, Japanese Emperor Hirohito declared his country’s surrender through a radio broadcast (Japanese time).

On September 2, 1945, a formal surrender agreement was signed aboard the American battleship USS Missouri, which was docked in Tokyo Bay, bringing World War II to a close. The two bombings killed between 70,000 and 135,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000 to 80,000 in Nagasaki. As a result, Nagasaki Memorial Day is held to memorialize the bombing victims, promote peace, and raise awareness of the need to prevent additional conflicts and nuclear weapons’ deadly potential.

☑️ Nagasaki Memorial Day facts

✅ It has a World Heritage Site
On January 30, 2018, Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu, was designated as a World Heritage Site for its hidden Christian sites.

✅ There is a famous abandoned island
Hashima Island, also known as Gunkanjima, is an abandoned island that serves as a reminder of Japanese war crimes by serving as a place of forced labor.

✅ There is “the Netherlands” in it
Huis Ten Bosch is a theme park in Nagasaki’s Sasebo district that recreates the Netherlands by showing life-sized replicas of ancient Dutch buildings.

✨ Things to do on Nagasaki Memorial Day

⚡ Spread the word
The bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki wreaked havoc and claimed many lives. Spread the message so that people are aware that conflict only leads to disaster.

⚡ Visit Nagasaki Peace Park
Visit Nagasaki Peace Park to remember the victims of the atomic attack. Peace Symbol Zones hold monuments contributed by governments all around the world. You may also visit the neighboring Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for atomic bomb victims.

⚡ Visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
Visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum to learn more about the history of Nagasaki’s atomic attack. Remember that war is horrifying enough on its own, let alone the aftermath.

📅 Nagasaki Memorial Day Observances

Learn all August holidays, including Special Interest and other Awareness holidays.

We will continue to update this page with new information and cool facts about Nagasaki Memorial Day. So be sure to check back soon.