Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will participate in ceremonies next week in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to commemorate the 69th anniversary of nuclear bombing of the two cities during the World War II, the Japanese government said Friday.

Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, said that the prime minister will explain the overhaul of the country's defense stance by exercising the right to collective self-defense which Abe called as a way to protect Japanese people.

However, the majority of Japanese people, especially residents in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world's only two cities that suffered from atomic bombing, have showed their concerns, even opposition, over the issue as the collective defense would drag Japan into military conflicts in the future.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy is expected to attend Hiroshima ceremony, according to local report Thursday.

To accelerate the end of the World War II waged by the Axis forces including Japan, the United States dropped two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, respectively, resulting in speeding up Japan's surrender in the World war II.