(VOVworld) - Memorial services were held in Nagasaki, Japan on Sunday to mark the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

At the ceremony on August 9, 2015 (Photo: Reuters)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and representatives from 75 countries, including US ambassador Caroline Kennedy, attended the ceremony.

Bells tolled as ageing survivors, the relatives of victims and others remembered the devastating blast at 11:02am local time on August 9, 1945.

In his address at Nagasaki Peace Park, Prime Minister Abe reiterated Japan’s determination to lead the global effort of nuclear disarmament, to create a world without such weapons.

Nagasaki City in ruins after the bombing Photo: GETTY

He also said Japan will continue to abide by its long-held non-nuclear principles: not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons on Japanese territory.

Abe noted that Japan would submit a fresh resolution to abolish nuclear weapons at the UN general assembly later this year.

Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue used his speech at Sunday's memorial service to warn against the government's new security legislation.