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Okinawa marks 70th anniversary of WWII battle
NAHA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Okinawa marked the 70th anniversary Tuesday of the end of a World War II ground battle that claimed over 200,000 lives, with the local government taking the opportunity to again voice its objection to a plan to relocate a key U.S. military base within the island prefecture.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy were among the attendees at the memorial service for the war dead held at the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, the site of the final stage of the Battle of Okinawa.
"We must take pride in the path of peace we have single-mindedly walked in the last 70 years and make ceaseless efforts to establish world peace," said Abe, adding at the end of his speech that the state will do its utmost to alleviate Okinawa's burden of hosting U.S. military bases.
The Battle of Okinawa began in the spring of 1945, when U.S. forces landed on the main island of Okinawa and other islands in the area. Some 94,000 civilians died in the three-month battle between Japanese and U.S. troops.
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150623p2g00m0dm077000c.html