Atomic Bomb Ceremony

Last Sunday, August 6, at 8.15 am, was the 55th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima City. The moment was marked by the tolling of the Peace Bell and by one minute’s silence. Then Mr. Tadatoshi Akiba, the Mayor of Hiroshima, delivered the Peace Declaration. During the ceremony to commemorate the atomic bomb victims, the names of 5,021 newly recognized victims were deposited by the Mayor in the Cenotaph. The new victims bring the total number of victims to 217,137. This ceremony and the ceremony for peace which immediately followed were attended by some 50,000 people, including the Prime Minister, Mr. Yoshiro Mori, and the Russian Ambassador to Japan, Mr Alexander Panov.

In the Peace Declaration, Mr Akiba stated that Hiroshima, which had urged the world to abolish nuclear weapons, wished to make a new beginning as a model city using science and technology for the sake of humanity. Mr Mori also gave an address during the ceremony, in which he mentioned an earlier agreement to review the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and afterwards held a press conference at a local hotel, during which he stated that the government was examining ways of helping atomic bomb victims living in North Korea.

After the ceremony had ended, long lines of people, especially the elderly and families, waited their turn under the hot sun to offer flowers and prayers at the A-Bomb Cenotaph. In fact the lines had begun to form the previous evening.

Falling Land Prices

The Hiroshima Branch of the National Tax Administration Agency recently gave details of the value of land facing main roads in the five prefectures of the Chugoku region. Land values for 2000 continued their downward fall and dropped by an average of 5.8% compared with values for the previous year. Land values, which form a basis for calculating certain taxes, have been falling for the past eight years and the average value of one square metre of land in the region now stands at ￥98,000.

The piece of land with the highest value in the Chugoku region was outside the Sogo department store in Motomachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima City, along the Aioi-dori tramcar route. The value of one square metre was calculated as ￥2,550,000, the 7th highest nationally, but 12.7% down compared with the 1999 figure. In second place was the land outside Okayama’s city office, with a value of ￥1,640,000 per square metre. Shimane Prefecture was the only prefecture in Japan where the land values remained stable.

「平和記念式典」

　８月６日の午前８時１５分、広島は原爆投下から５５周年を迎えた。平和の鐘を合図に、１分間の黙とうがあり、秋葉忠則広島市長が平和宣言をした。原爆の犠牲者を追悼する式典で市長は、原爆慰霊碑に、新たに５０２１人の名前を記帳した原爆死没者名簿を奉納した。名簿登載者の総数は２１７１３７人になった。この原爆死没者慰霊式・平和祈念式には約５万人が参加、森喜朗首相やロシアのアレクサンドル・パノフ駐日大使も参列した。

　秋葉市長は平和宣言の中で核兵器の廃絶を世界に向かって呼び掛けてきた広島が、科学技術を人間的な目的のために活用するモデル都市となりたいと述べた。森首相も式典であいさつし、先の核拡散防止条約（NPT）再検討会議に触れた。式典後、市内のホテルで記者会見した首相は、朝鮮民主主義人民共和国の被爆者に対する医療支援のあり方を検討する考えを明らかにした。

　式典終了後、原爆慰霊碑前では照りつける太陽の下、お年寄りや家族連れをはじめとする多くの人たちが献花し、めい福を祈るために列をつくった。この列は前夜から続いていたのである。

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「地価の下落」

　広島国税局は中国五県の主要な道路に面した土地の価格（路線価）を公表した。２０００年の路線価も下落を続け、前年に比べて５．８パーセントダウンした。課税の際の算定基準となる路線価の下落は８年連続、標準地１平方メートル当たり９万８千円となっている。

　中国地方で最も高かったのは、広島市中区基町の広島そごう前の電車通りである相生通り。１平方メートル当たり２５５万円とされ全国７位だが、１９９９年に比べ、１２．７パーセント下がった。２位は岡山市役所筋で、１平方メートルあたり１６４万円。島根県は日本で唯一、横ばいを保った。