Nagasaki commemorated the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city Sunday with calls for the world to abolish nuclear weapons and a direct criticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempt to pass controversial security legislation.
"Now there is an attempt to return to the wartime era by forcing through approval of the right to collective self-defense and an amendment to the Constitution," said Sumiteru Taniguchi, who was representing Nagasaki's atomic bomb survivors at the ceremony.
"The security legislation the government is pursuing will lead to war. It is an attempt to overturn the nuclear abolition activities and wishes held and carried out by the hibakusha and those multitudes of people who desire peace. We cannot accept this," he said, drawing a round of applause.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.