March 10 & 11, 2012

On March 9, a ceremony was held to remember the massive Tokyo air raid by the U.S. forces on March 10, 1945, which claimed the lives of 100,000 people in Tokyo.

It was held in front of two monuments, built in 2005 at the initiative of essayist Ebina Kayoko, who lost her six family members in the indiscriminate air raid just before dawn on March 10th 67 years ago.

“The pain and sorrow I experienced should never be experienced by our children. Let us relate how precious peace is with the firm determination to not allow the same tragedy to be repeated,” said Ebina in her speech.

Japanese Communist Party former Upper House member Koike Akira attended the ceremony. He spoke of the need to protect Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution in order to “pass the flame of peace on to the next generations.”

Similar events took place on March 10.