JEREMY CORBYN and Caroline Lucas will represent the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in Japan to mark the 80-year anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The group’s two vice-presidents will join atomic bomb survivors, known as Hibakusha, along with dignitaries, parliamentarians and international delegates, taking part in anniversary ceremonies as part of a World Conference calling for an end to nuclear weapons.

In August 1945, the US dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Of Hiroshima’s 350,000 population, estimated deaths ranged from 100,000 to 180,000.

Nagasaki casualties were thought to be between 50,000 and 100,000.

By 1950, more than 340,000 people had died, with generations poisoned by radiation.

CND said it “remembers all those who were killed and injured in these criminal bombings” and paid tribute to the Hibakusha “who continue to campaign for a world free from nuclear dangers.”

The commemoration comes amid the continued expansion and modernisation by nuclear weapons states of their arsenals.

CND general secretary Sophie Bolt said: “We must expose the lie that nuclear weapons keep us safe.

“On the contrary, they are a daily threat to us all.”

“And, because of nuclear expansion of nuclear states like our own reckless government, the threat of nuclear weapons being used in war again is growing.

“So, as we mark 80 years since these horrific crimes were committed, we must come together to challenge this terrifying war drive and end the nuclear threat.”

Anniversary events will take place in towns and cities across Britain.

Mr Corbyn said: “As we reflect on 80 years since the criminal bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we must ask where is the leadership in pursuing the urgent need for nuclear disarmament?

“It certainly isn’t among the nuclear weapons states who are spending ever increasing sums to develop new ways to carry out mass killing.”

The Islington North MP said countries across the global South, who are “championing” nuclear weapons-free zones and promoting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), should be taken as an inspiration.

“This offers the legal framework to ban these weapons and provide reparations for victims of nuclear weapons testing and use,” he added.

“Britain should rethink its disastrous nuclear expansion and start engaging with the TPNW immediately.”

Ms Lucas said it is a “great honour” to be representing CND in Hiroshima and Nagasaki “on such an important anniversary.”

She said: “It could not be more urgent to support all those working for nuclear disarmament, and I pay tribute to the very last survivors who continue to use their voice to raise awareness about the dangers of nuclear weapons.

“The threat of nuclear war is growing, as the international disarmament frameworks come under increasing pressure.

“Far from abiding by their legal duties to take steps to disarm under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, countries like the UK are moving in the opposite direction, increasing and modernising their arsenals.

“Yet at the same time, over 90 countries have signed the UN’s Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

Ms Lucas said it was “vital that we use this anniversary to reshape the debate about real security,” adding: “This means investing in a sustainable, green economy, and pursuing a foreign policy based on international law.”