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 aging survivors and the relatives of victims, observed a minute's silence at 11:02 am (0202 GMT), the moment the bomb from a U.S. plane devastated the port city on August 9, 1945.

Tens of thousands gathered in Hiroshima Thursday to mark 70 years since the dropping of the first atomic bomb, with opinion still divided over whether its deadly destruction was justified.

Bells tolled as a solemn crowd observed a moment of silence at 8:15 am local time (2315 GMT), when the detonation turned the bustling city into an inferno, killing thousands instantly and leaving others with horrific injuries to die a slow death.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima underscored the importance of the Iran nuclear deal and disarmament in general, as Japan marked the attack's 70th anniversary.

"Needless to say, it's a very, very powerful reminder of not just the impact of war in a lasting way on people, on countries, but it also underscores the importance of the agreement we reached with Iran to reduce the possibility of more nuclear weapons," Kerry said on the sidelines of a regional diplomatic gathering in Kuala Lumpur. 

Japan's premier Shinzo Abe was heckled Tuesday at a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, the bloodiest episode in the Pacific War, as anger flared over the U.S. military's continuing presence.

In a highly charged ceremony on Okinawa, Abe was shouted at by locals angry at the size of the United States' presence on the subtropical islands.

Seventy years after the Battle of Okinawa, Yoshiko Shimabukuro still has terrifying nightmares of watching friends and Japanese soldiers die as they hid in caves to escape fierce American shelling.

One of 222 female students mobilized as a battlefield nursing unit for the Imperial Army in March 1945, she also suffers deep pangs of guilt for surviving the war while many of her classmates perished in the hell holes that served as military hospitals on the island's southern tip.

More than 20 passengers were injured when an Asiana Airlines Airbus A320 overran a runway in western Japan on Tuesday evening, officials and local media said.

The South Korean carrier's Flight OZ162, which took off at Incheon airport, was attempting to land in Hiroshima when the incident occurred, officials said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday pledged full support for victims of last week's massive landslides in Hiroshima, as he made his first visit since the disaster to the western Japan city.

The death toll from the mudslides, which buried dozens of homes, rose to 52, with a further 28 people missing as of Monday, according to Hiroshima police.

The death toll from devastating midweek landslides in Hiroshima rose to 50 on Sunday, as fresh rain stoked fears of more disasters and hampered the round-the-clock search for survivors.

Tens of thousands marked the 69th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki on Saturday, as the city's pacifist mayor urged the Japanese government to listen to increasing concerns over controversial plans to expand the role of its military.

Crowds gathered to remember the more than 70,000 people who died in the initial blast or from after-effects in the months and years following the bombing, which hit Nagasaki at 11:02 am local time (0202 GMT).

Tens of thousands of people gathered for peace ceremonies in Hiroshima on Wednesday, marking the 69th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city, as anti-nuclear sentiment runs high in Japan.

Bells tolled as aging survivors, relatives, government officials and foreign delegates observed a moment of silence in the rain at 8:15 am local time (2315 GMT), when the detonation turned the western Japanese city into an inferno.