Japan marks 70th anniversary of ‘Hiroshima, Nagasaki bombings’

He promised that Japan would continue to abide by its long-held principles: not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on Japanese territory.

A message from UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, echoed calls by Mr Taue, and others, to abolish nuclear weapons.

Abe’s coalition last month approved controversial legislations in the lower house of parliament that would lift a ban on sending troops to fight overseas, despite much opposition from lawmakers and thousands protesting against it outside the parliament building. But surveys show a majority of voters are opposed to what would be a significant shift in Japan’s defence policy.

With Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the audience, a representative of Nagasaki bomb survivors told an annual ceremony that security legislation introduced by the Abe government goes against the wishes of the survivors and “will lead to war“.

His stance reflects a popular fear in Japan: that the legislation Abe is pushing through the Japanese legislature will compromise the country’s pacifist constitution.

The Japanese government line is that the constitution and its all-important Article Nine – under which Japan renounced war as a means of resolving global disputes – have merely been “reinterpreted”, and not altered. “We should never let this happen”, said a protester.

Abe made brief remarks at the event but avoided mentioning the security bills.

Abe was scrutinized for neglecting to say the three standards at a service days prior in Hiroshima, disturbing nuclear bomb survivors – especially when the patriot pioneer is attempting to push through enactment to develop the military’s part. “A lot of Japanese have been disturbed by the Abe administration”. Japan shelters under the US nuclear umbrella but has not developed its own bomb.

A memorial service was held at 10:35 a.m. Sunday to remember the victims of Nagasaki atomic bombing. The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing an estimated 70,000 people instantly in the blast and around 140,000 people by the end of 1945.

“As the average age of the hibakusha passes 80, I feel a growing sense of urgency to honour their legacy by finally ridding the world of nuclear weapons”.

Abe has said he will uphold past statements about the war, including then-premier Tomiichi Murayama’s 1995 landmark “heartfelt apology” for Japan’s aggression and colonialism.