TOKYO, July 26 -- (Kyodo) _ The U.S. and British governments are making final arrangements to dispatch officials to Hiroshima on Aug. 6 for the first time for a ceremony to mark the 65th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city, diplomatic sources in Tokyo said Monday.

The participation of major nuclear powers in the annual ceremony is likely to build momentum for efforts to seek nuclear disarmament.

France, another nuclear power, has already decided that the acting head of its embassy in Tokyo will attend this year's ceremony for the first time.

The city of Hiroshima has asked every nuclear nation to participate in the ceremony since 1998 and is waiting for formal responses from the United States and Britain on whether their officials will join it this year.

The two countries appear to have changed their previous stances of not attending the ceremony as moves to eliminate nuclear weapons have gathered steam since U.S. President Barack Obama advocated last year creating a nuclear-free world.

The sources did not reveal the specific levels of the officials that the two governments are considering dispatching to the ceremony, though there is speculation that they could be high-ranking officials of their embassies in Japan.

A public relations official at the British Embassy said it had received an invitation from Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and will reply soon.