Japan on Sunday marked the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki that claimed more than 74,000 lives, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came under fire for his attempts to expand the military’s role.

Bells tolled and tens of thousands of people, including ageing survivors and the relatives of victims, observed a minute’s silence at 11:02 am (0202 GMT), the moment the bomb from a US plane devastated the port city on Au 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 that 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 state before the end of World War II.