Okinawa marks 81 years since end of WWII ground battle

NAHA — Okinawa on Tuesday marked 81 years since the end of a fierce World War II ground battle between Japan and the United States that took the lives of more than 200,000 military personnel and civilians.

The island prefecture continues to bear the heavy burden of hosting U.S. military bases, more than 50 years after its reversion from U.S. rule, while Japan is also boosting its defense capabilities in the southern region amid the Chinese military's growing maritime activities.

"We remember the misery of war, and we vow to never repeat the folly," Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki said in a peace declaration at a memorial service to commemorate the lives lost.

"Having borne the scars of war, it is Okinawa that can contribute to peace, as we hereby pledge to fulfill this role together with the rest of the world."

The central government is pushing to transfer U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a crowded residential district in Ginowan to the less populated Henoko coastal area of Nago, both in Okinawa Prefecture, while many local residents want the base moved outside of the prefecture.

Referring to the transfer in the declaration, Tamaki called for a solution through dialogue between the Japanese and U.S. governments and the prefecture.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also attended the ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, the site of the final stage of the battle, noted the heavy burden of hosting the bulk of U.S. military bases in Japan.

"We will work to reorganize, consolidate and reduce U.S. military facilities and areas in Japan, while cooperating with the people of Okinawa to promote the effective use of land formerly used by the U.S. forces following its return," Takaichi said.

Okinawa hosts 70 percent of the facilities exclusively used by U.S. Forces Japan, while Japan is strengthening defense capabilities in the region amid tensions surrounding Taiwan and the Senkaku Islands, a group of uninhabited islets controlled by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing, which calls them Diaoyu.

The activity has stirred worries among local residents that they could once again be dragged into war.

Noting rising concern about nuclear proliferation worldwide, Tamaki said, "Given the reality that even wars far from home impact our daily lives, to oppose all wars and realize peace is no ideal but responsibility."

Attendees observed a minute of silence, while a peace poem was read out by a local middle school student.

Another 95 names were added to the list of war dead inscribed on memorial monuments, bringing the total to 242,659 people.

Efforts to preserve memories of the battle are at a crossroads as the number of survivors dwindles.

Opportunities to hear firsthand accounts of the conflict are fading, with about 60 percent of local high schoolers not having any family members who can recount the battle, according to local researchers.

U.S. forces landed on the main island of Okinawa in April 1945. On May 22, the Japanese army decided to retreat to the southern part of the island and intermingled with local residents, resulting in the deaths of one in four Okinawans.

Anticipating a decisive battle on the mainland, U.S. forces occupied Japanese air bases, leading to Okinawa's hosting of U.S. military bases to date.

© KYODO