A memorial ceremony was held in Okinawa Prefecture on Sunday for more than 200,000 people who lost their lives in a fierce ground battle fought in the southernmost prefecture 79 years ago toward the end of World War II.
During the memorial service, sponsored by the Okinawa Prefectural Government and held in the Peace Memorial Park in the city of Itoman’s Mabuni district, participants observed a moment of silence in honor of the war dead and renewed their pledge for peace. Mabuni was the last bloody fight during the Battle of Okinawa, which left numerous civilians dead.
Later in the ceremony, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki read out a peace declaration and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered an address.
Yusuke Nakama, an 18-year-old high school student, recited a poem about peace, expressing his determination to continue praying for peace at a time when wars are ongoing in various parts of the world.
On June 23, 1945, organized fighting during the Battle of Okinawa, the fiercest ground battle on Japanese soil during World War II, is said to have ended with the suicide in Mabuni of the local commander of the now-defunct Japanese Imperial Army.
On the Cornerstone of Peace, a monument in the park in Itoman, the names of 181 war victims were newly inscribed this year, bringing the total number to 242,225.