Constitutional row as Japan marks 70th anniversary of Nagasaki bombing

One minute's silence and bells at 11:02 local time marked the passing of 70 years since the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 by the US Air Force, part of an emotional memorial service marking the anniversary.

At least 70,000 people died in the attack, which came three days after another bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Nagasaki was hit as a target of second choice, after cloud cover obscured the original target, Kokura.

This morning, a solemn ceremony was held in front of guests from 75 countries, including US ambassador Caroline Kennedy, beginning with a declaration read out by children.

Speeches at the ceremony hit out at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was in attendance at the ceremony, for his plans to reduce the restrictions on what operations Japan's military could involve itself in. Nagasaki’s mayor, Tomihisa Taue, criticised moves by Japan’s government to change the country’s pacifist constitution, saying it had caused "widespread unease".

A survivor of the Nagasaki attack, 86-year-old Sumiteru Taniguchi, also said he could not accept Abe's new legislation and described the terrible injuries he had suffered in the nuclear blast.

The bombing had effectively brought an end to the war in the Pacific, which had begun as bid to increase the territories controlled by the Japanese Emperor.

The new legislation would allow Japan to engage in combat for the first time since World War Two, but only to defend an ally under attack.