Okinawa marks the 66th anniversary of the end of WWII battle

Okinawa marks the 66th anniversary of the end of WWII battle

At the ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman City at 12:00pm on June 23, those in attendance offered a moment’s silence for the victims of the Battle of Okinawa, and gave a pledge not to fight in any wars.


June 23, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo

On Thursday, June 23, Okinawa marked the 66th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa in which more than 200,000 people lost their lives.
At the Peace Memorial Park in Mabuni, Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture and the prefectural assembly held a ceremony for the victims of the Battle of Okinawa and issued a pledge for world peace.

There are growing voices of protest within the prefecture against the decision by the governments of the United States and Japan at the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee for defense ministers and foreign ministers (2+2) held on June 21, to go ahead and build a V-shape runway at Henoko, Nago City, as a replacement facility for the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station.
The prefecture marked the 66th anniversary of the end of the battle amidst ongoing problems related to the U.S. military bases in Okinawa.
The mass commemorative march for peace arrived at the Peace Memorial Park at 11:30am, marking the 50th anniversary of it being held. About 5,000 visitors prayed for the victims at 12:00pm and accepted the pledge for peace.

At the ceremony, Yoshinao Nakasone, the head of the Okinawa Association of War Bereaved Families said, “The Japanese government once promised relocation of the facilities at Futenma Air Station out of the prefecture and out of the country, however, Japanese Prime Minster Naoto Kan now clearly states that the government will adhere to the agreement reached by the U.S. and Japanese governments for relocating the facilities at Futenma Air Station to Henoko. The Okinawan people have unambiguously expressed their views through the resolution of the prefectural assembly and through protest rallies. The people of Okinawa will not tolerate any activity that may lead to war.”

The Governor of Okinawa Prefecture Hirokazu Nakaima read out a peace declaration after Prime Minister Kan made his appearance at the ceremony and the representative of students had offered a floral tribute.
Tomoka Kamida, a second-year student at Nakanishi Junior High School in Urasoe City, read out a poem for peace entitled, “One scene from the happy days,” which she wrote for her grandmother, who was a teacher during the Battle of Okinawa, and for her grandmother’s students.

(English Translation by T&CT, Mark Ealey）

Translated from an article on PDF document below:
http://ryukyushimpo.jp/uploads/img4e02b50719432.pdf

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