Critics warn Abe his security bills will ‘lead to war’ at Nagasaki memorial

Critics yesterday warned Prime Minister Shinzo Abe his controversial security bills would "lead to war" as Japan marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki that claimed more than 74,000 lives.

Bells tolled and tens of thousands of people, including ageing survivors and the relatives of victims, observed a minute's silence at 11.02am - the moment the bomb from a US plane devastated the port city on August 9, 1945.

Abe laid a wreath at the ceremony, attended by representatives from 75 countries including US ambassador Caroline Kennedy. "As the only country attacked with an atomic bomb in war, I am renewing our determination to lead the global effort for nuclear disarmament, to create a world without such weapons," Abe said in his speech.

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

Abe was criticised for failing to mention the three principles at a ceremony days earlier in Hiroshima, alarming atomic bomb survivors -particularly when the nationalist leader is trying to push through legislation to extend the military's role.

Nagasaki survivor Sumiteru Taniguchi, 86, lashed out at Abe's government for trying to revise the pacifist constitution, accusing it of returning Japan to the situation before the end of the second world war. He said the new security legislation "will lead to war".