HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) -- Hiroshima's mayor urged global leaders on Thursday to back President Barack Obama's call to abolish nuclear weapons as Japan marked the 64th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack. In April, Obama said that the United States -- the only nation that has deployed atomic bombs in combat -- has a "moral responsibility" to act and declared his goal to rid the world of the weapons. At a solemn ceremony to commemorate the victims of the Aug. 6, 1945, attack, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba welcomed that commitment. (20 images)
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A woman offers prayers as she releases a paper lantern in the Motoyasu River with the backdrop of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 6. Hiroshima's mayor urged global leaders on Thursday to back President Barack Obama's call to abolish nuclear weapons as Japan marked the 64th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack. AP / Shizuo Kambayashi
A girl releases a paper lantern in the Motoyasu River with the backdrop of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 6. AP / Shizuo Kambayashi
A girl holds a paper lantern before releasing it in the Motoyasu River with the backdrop of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 6. AP / Shizuo Kambayashi
People pray for the victims of the atomic bomb at the Peace Memorial Park on August 6, in Hiroshima, Japan. The dropping of the bomb by the U.S. killed an estimated 70,000 people instantly, with many thousands more dying over the following years from the effects of radiation. Three days later another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, prompting Japan's surrender in World War II. Getty Images / Junko Kimura
People pray for the victims of the atomic bomb at the Peace Memorial Park on August 6, in Hiroshima, Japan. Getty Images / Junko Kimura
People place flowers in rememberance of the dead from the dropping of the first atomic bomb in 1945 at the Peace Memorial Park on August 6, in Hiroshima, Japan. Getty Images / Junko Kimura
People pray for the victims of the atomic bomb at the Peace Memorial Park on August 6, in Hiroshima, Japan. Getty Images / Junko Kimura
A woman wears a neckless of paper birds which are used in prayer for peace on August 6, in Hiroshima, Japan. Getty Images / Junko Kimura
People protest for peace in the Peace Memorial Park on August 6, in Hiroshima, Japan. Getty Images / Junko Kimura
A visitor passes by a wall displaying a picture of the mushroom cloud when the atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima in 1945, at the Peace Memorial Museum on August 6, in Hiroshima, Japan. Getty Images / Junko Kimura
A visitor passes by pictures displaying the mushroom cloud pictured when the atomic bomb was dropped at the Peace Memorial Museum on August 6, in Hiroshima, Japan. Getty Images / Junko Kimura
Doves fly around the Atomic Bomb Dome at the Peace Memorial Park after their release during the memorial ceremony in Hiroshima, on August 6. The western Japanese city marked its 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing. AFP/ Getty Images / Kazuhiro Nogi
A handout photo released by Hiroshima City Office shows doves flying over the Peace Memorial Park after their release during the memorial ceremony in Hiroshima, on August 6. AFP / Getty Images / handout
An elderly woman prays for atomic bomb victims before dawn in front of the altar at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on August 6. The western Japanese city marked its 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing. AFP/ Getty Images / Kazuhiro Nogi
A family burns incense as they mourn atomic bomb victims before dawn in front of the altar at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on August 6. The western Japanese city marked its 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing. AFP/ Getty Images / Kazuhiro Nogi
A young girl prays for the atomic bomb victims before dawn in front of the altar at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on August 6, as the western Japanese city marked the 64th anniversary of the atomic bombing. AFP/ Getty Images / Kazuhiro Nogi
Women walk with lanterns past the Atomic Bomb Dome during a march to mourn for the victims of the 1945 atomic bomb beside the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima on August 5. AFP/ Getty Images / Kazuhiro Nogi
An attendee to the memorial service for Korean atomic bomb victims prays at the Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park on August 5. People gathered at the memorial on the eve of the annual memorial service for the two hundreds thousands A-bomb victims which will be held here on August 6. AFP/ Getty Images / Kazuhiro Nogi
The Peace Flame has burned for the atomic bomb victims at the Memorial Cenotaph at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Tuesday, Aug. 4. AP / Shizuo Kambayashi
Atomic Bomb Dome is seen in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on August 5, in Hiroshima, Japan. Getty Images / Junko Kimura
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