Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims opened on July 6 just over a month ahead of the anniversary of the August 9, 1945 atomic bombing that effectively led to Japan's surrender at the end of World War II.

"People well remember the name of Hiroshima, but some people don't even know about the fact that Nagasaki was also atomic-bombed," said Masato Koga, section chief of the hall built inside the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Park.

The 4.4 billion yen (36 million dollar) underground hall, the latest facility in the memorial park, is topped by a flat, circular fountain at ground level, surrounded by a hedge and an emerald green glass wall.

Visitors can look at pictures of the victims, listen to their voice messages and check references through computers in the two-storey structure located 250 meters (825 feet) away from ground zero.

Twelve glass pillars line the way to a cenotaph, where the victims' names are listed. Visitors place flowers and pray for the souls of the victims in front of the nine-meter high monument covered by the world's largest glass sheet.

"We are happy a large number of people have been visiting the hall everyday since the opening, but most of them are in their 50s or older," Koga said.

"I am a little bit disappointed at the increasing lack of concern of young people about the tragedy," he said.

Just days before this year's atomic bomb commemoration on Saturday, sweating officials were toiling under a scorching sun to prepare to welcome VIP guests, led by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Meanwhile, only meters (yards) away from the hypocenter of the atomic bombing, young couples were relaxing on the benches and the lawn, while smiling families snapped photos as church bells rang out noon.

"I don't have any particular awareness that Nagasaki is an atomic-bombed city," said Natsumi Kojima, 24, who works at a foodstore in central Nagasaki.

"It's somehow a past story," said Kojima, who was born and raised in the city. Asked if she wanted to visit the new memorial hall, Kojima replied: "Well, I'll think about it."

Some of the atomic bomb sufferers themselves voice regret that other people are gradually losing a sense of the horrors they went through.

"Those who directly experienced the bombing will be dissappearing in 10 years," said Sumiteru Taniguchi, 74, vice president of Nagasaki A-Bomb Sufferers' Council.

For 58 years the former postman has suffered acute pains in his back which was badly burnt by the explosion, the force of which sent him flying at 11:02 am on August 9, 1945, when he was delivering mail by bicycle.

"The hellish scene is still vivid in my mind," said Taniguchi, who has keloids (thick radiation scars) all over his back except for where his waist was protected by his postman's thick leather belt.

"I intend to continue telling people about my experience until I die, but I am worried that people -- especially the younger generations -- are beginning not to care about it," Taniguchi said.

"I just want young people to remember that nuclear weapons will never save human beings. It is an illusion that the nulear umbrella will protect us," Taniguchi said firmly.

Katsuichi Fukahori, a 74-year-old A-bomb survivor and secretary general of another victims' group, however, says the passing of the memories cannot be helped.

"It is natural that past memories are fading away. Nagasaki is not an exception," said Fukahori, who was working at a production line for a Mitsubishi arms factory in the city when the bomb dropped.

"I will try to do my best to pass my experience down to young people, but I feel there is a limit."

An estimated 74,000 people were killed when a plutonium-239 bomb named "Fat Man" flattened Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, three days after another bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the world's first nuclear target.

The number of dead has since risen to some 130,000 according to the city's estimate, as others have succumbed to illnesses ultimately caused by their exposure to radiation.

WAR.WIRE