June 24, 2020

An Okinawa-hosted memorial service marking 75 years since the end of the Battle of Okinawa in the late stages of the Pacific War took place on June 23 at the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman City in Okinawa.

In memory of more than 200,000 victims who were killed in the ground battle, attendees renewed their resolve to continue calling for an Okinawa without foreign military bases and for an island of peace.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the number of ceremony attendees was scaled back to 161 this year from the usual 5,000 level. Japanese Communist Party Dietmember Akamine Seiken and JCP Okinawa prefectural assemblypersons attended the memorial. Hiroshima City Mayor Matsui Kazumi, Nagasaki City Mayor Taue Tomihisa, and UN Undersecretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Nakamitsu Izumi sent video messages in solidarity to the event.

Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny in his peace declaration said that the natural environment of Okinawa and the sea off Henoko where the Abe government is pushing forward with the construction of a new U.S. base against the prefectural people's will "are irreplaceable treasures of Okinawans". He once again expressed his intent to block the base from being built and to pass on the rich natural environment to future generations.

The governor called for "handing down the lessons learned from the Battle of Okinawa to future generations as well as for sending 'the heart of Okinawa' aspiring for everlasting peace to the world and sharing this heart with each other". He added, "Now is the time for the international community to bring together the wisdom of mankind and we must work hard with all our might to eliminate nuclear weapons, renounce war, and establish everlasting peace."

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in his video message said that the heavy concentration of U.S. military facilities in Okinawa is unacceptable, but did not say anything about the new base construction project and about the return of the U.S. Futenma base to Okinawa.