PM Abe Reflects on the 71st Anniversary of the Fall of Okinawa

The following is a message from Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe translated from Japanese on June 23rd, 2016.

Seventy-one years ago, Okinawa was the scene of a dreadful ground battle, with some 200,000 people losing their precious lives. I express my sincere mourning for the souls of those who fell on the battlefields and those who died suffering the ravages of war. The peace and prosperity we now enjoy exist atop the sacrifice of the war dead and Okinawa’s history of hardship and suffering. Reflecting on this, we will continue our ceaseless efforts to bring about a peaceful world.

At the same time, we will alleviate the burden of the United States military bases and work to ensure that tragic incidents and accidents never happen again. I will work to resolve one by one the various issues surrounding the United States military bases. I will also invest my utmost in the promotion of Okinawa so as to carve out a bright future there.