Buddhist ministers offer prayers for the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the 50th anniversary commemoration last year at Koyasan Buddhist Temple.
2026 marks 81 years since atomic bombs were detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki — the only times nuclear weapons have been used during warfare.
The American Society of Hiroshima-Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors (ASA) would like to invite the public to our 81st Annual Commemoration Service for A-Bomb Victims and Survivors, which will be held on Sunday, Aug. 2, from 2 to 3 p.m. at Koyasan Buddhist Temple, 342 First St. in Little Tokyo.
We look forward to seeing our friends and colleagues as we honor those who perished and support the survivors who are still with us.
This year’s guest speakers will be Junji Sarashina, a hibakusha who was 1.5 miles from the hypocenter in Hiroshima; his granddaughter, Emily Sarashina, who attended last year’s 80th commemoration service in Hiroshima; and photographer Darrell Miho, who also attended the 80th commemoration ceremony in Hiroshima. Together, they will talk about their recent trip to Hiroshima.
In addition, there will be special messages from Bishop Shunga Kiryu of Koyasan Betsuin, Kazumi Matsui, mayor of Hiroshima, and Shiro Suzuki, mayor of Nagasaki.
This event will be emceed by ASA Directors Dr. Gloria Montebruno-Saller and Miho.
For questions, contact Miho at darrellmiho@gmail.com or Montebruno-Saller at gmontebrunophd@gmail.com.
ASA is a group of atomic bomb survivors who were in Hiroshima or Nagasaki in 1945. ASA is a nonprofit organization that represents over 100 members from Hawaii and Los Angeles who have witnessed atrocities that cannot be imagined.
ASA’s hope is for peace in the world we live in through the abolishment of all nuclear weapons so that no one else will ever experience the pain and suffering that its members have endured.
