CRI听力:Japan Gears up for 70th Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing

At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, the nuclear bomb "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima by an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay.

Dr. Jeremy Kinney, Aviation Curator at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, where the Enola Grey remains on display, recounts what happened on that fateful morning

"They reach Hiroshima about 30,000 feet and Tom Ferby the navigator drops the bomb, it falls for about 40 seconds and detonates about 2,000 feet above the city, in the city center actually"

Keiko Ogura –was only eight years old when the first bomb fell in Hiroshima - and was just two kilometers away from the place where it detonated.

"The blast was so strong; it blew me into the middle of the street and knocked me out."

The Bomb directly killed over 80,000 people on that day. But by the end of 1945, the death toll almost doubled, due to the effects of high-levels of radiation.

Kimie Mihara, is another survivor.

"I survived because I was late. So I feel lucky because I was not here at the time, but when I think of those who were killed because they were diligent and on time, I am just so sorry for them. I feel bad for them."

Every year hundreds of survivors and families of the victims gather at the Peace Park in Hiroshima and thousands of lanterns - the symbols of the journey to the afterlife - are floated on the Motoyasu River in memory of all those who perished in the world's first atomic bomb attack.

Nagasaki - the second and last city to feel the full force of the atomic bomb – plans to release thousands of Origami cranes to mark the fateful event.

While some of the physical damage and scars have healed, emotions run high every year on the anniversary of Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.

Japanese prime ministers traditionally mark the occasion with a speech, and anticipation of what current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will say in this year's speech in Nagazaki is creating tension between Japan, China and South Korea.

The deep historical wounds are feeding into current tensions between Japan and China over disputed in the East and South China Sea.

These tensions are threatening to drown out the message of peace from the few survivors of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For CRI I'm Poornima Weerasekara.