Hiroshima marks 80 years since atomic bombing

Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba attended the ceremony on Wednesday, along with officials from around the world.

"Japan is the only nation that has suffered an atomic bombing in war," Hiroshima mayor Kazumi Matsui said at the city's Peace Memorial Park. "The Japanese government represents a people who aspire for genuine and lasting peace."

World War Two ended with Japan's surrender after the dropping of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which took place days apart.

The bombs killed more than 200,000 people - some from the immediate blast and others from radiation sickness and burns.

The legacy of the weapons continues to haunt survivors today.

"My father was badly burned and blinded by the blast. His skin was hanging from his body - he couldn't even hold my hand," Hiroshima survivor Shingo Naito told the BBC. He was six years old when the bomb struck his city, killing his father and two younger siblings.

Mr Naito has been sharing his story with a group of students in Hiroshima, who are turning his memories of the tragedy into art.