On August 5 and 6 in Hiroshima and August 8 and 9 in Nagasaki commemorative programs were held in memory of the victims of atomic bombings of the two cities in 1945. Many high state and local officials, a large number of citizens including children, foreign attendees, as well as ambassadors accredited in Japan paid their respects at the monuments erected in the memory of the thousands of victims of the atomic bombs. Foreign diplomats met the survivors of the explosion, so called hibakusha. Japanese Prime Minister Abe attended both commemorations and in his address he emphasized importance and necessity of promoting world peace and world without nuclear weapons, stressing the dedication of Japan to these goals. The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres attended the commemoration in Nagasaki.
Ambassador Hrastic attended the commemoration in Hiroshima, as an envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. Ambassador Hrastic delivered to a representative of the Hiroshima City Ms. Yoko Shigemizu paper cranes that symbolize peace and memory of the victims of the tragic event. Paper cranes were made in Croatia, in organization of Makoto - Croatian Japanese Association, by around a hundred of children in three public libraries of the City of Zagreb (Knjižnica Savica, Knjižnica Vrapce, Knjižnica Ivane Brlic Mažuranic) and two elementary schools (Oš Sesvetska Sela, Oš Lovre pl. Matacica).
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