The site of the world’s worst atomic bomb attack echoed with the choirs of schoolchildren and the solemn ringing of bells as Hiroshima marked its biggest memorial yet – and the first to be attended by Britain, the US and other major nuclear powers.

A suspected right-wing extremist vandalised a memorial for the victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, scraping off a reference to Japan’s war effort as a mistake, officials and news reports said today.

As thousands assembled in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park to mark the 57th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bomb attack today, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reaffirmed Japan’s policy against building or possessing nuclear weapons.