Hiroshima

is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 2.089 million. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has been the citys mayor since April 2011.Hiroshima was founded in 1589 as a castle town on the Ōta River delta. Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Hiroshima rapidly transformed into a major urban center and industrial hub. In 1889, Hiroshima officially gained city status. The city was a center of military activities during the imperial era, playing significant roles such as the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and the two world wars.Towards the end of World War II, Hiroshima is best remembered as the first city targeted by a nuclear weapon, when the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped an atomic bomb on the city at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945. Most of the city was destroyed, and by the end of the year 90,000–166,000 had died as a result of the blast and its effects. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) serves as a memorial of the bombing.Hiroshima was rebuilt after the war. It has since become the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan.

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