Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Saturday attended the 66th anniversary in Hiroshima of the world’s first atomic bomb attack, and reaffirmed the need to reduce the country’s reliance on nuclear energy.

In his speech during the service to commemorate the 1945 bombing, Mr. Kan said Japan would examine the causes of this year’s nuclear accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and aim for a society that would not depend on nuclear power generation.