Japan Marks Hiroshima Bomb Anniversary with Low-key Ceremonies

HIROSHIMA, JAPAN - Japan on Friday marked 76 years since the world's first atomic bomb attack, with low-key ceremonies and disappointment over a refusal by Olympics organizers to hold a minute's silence.

Survivors, relatives and a handful of foreign dignitaries attended this year's main event in Hiroshima to pray for those killed or wounded in the bombing and call for world peace. Virus concerns meant the general public were once again kept away, with the ceremony instead broadcast online. Participants, many dressed in black and wearing face masks, offered a silent prayer at 8:15 am (2315 GMT Thursday), when the first nuclear weapon used in wartime was dropped.