When time stood still for Nagasaki...

Nagasaki commemorates the 61st anniversary of the nuclear bombing, which claimed 70,000 lives in 1945.

The city of Nagasaki commemorated the 61st anniversary of the nuclear bombing of the city Wednesday with around 4,600 people attending a memorial.

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Mayor Itcho Ito, in a Peace Declaration, called on nuclear states to work for nuclear disarmament while expressing concern over seeing "no progress" since the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in May last year ended without result.

His criticism was directed at the United States, North Korea, India, Pakistan, Iran and Israel.

"Voices of anger and frustration are echoing throughout the city," Ito said at the ceremony.

"The time has come for those nations that rely on the force of nuclear armaments to respectfully heed the voices of peace-loving people, not least the atomic bomb survivors."

The atomic bombing of 1945 claimed the lives of 70,000 people in that year and another 2,831 people are to be added to the list of casualties this year, raising the total number of victims to 140,144.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and government delegates from seven countries attended the ceremony.

A moment of silence was observed at 11.02 am, when the nuclear bomb was detonated over Nagasaki 61 years ago.