Bereaved families protest P.M. Koizumi attending Okinawa Battle memorial service

A memorial ceremony for some 200,000 victims of the Okinawa Battle took place on June 23 to mark the 57th anniversary of the end of the combat in the Peace Commemorative Park in Itoman City, the site of the bloodiest battle in Okinawa.

About 7,700 people, including Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro, attended the ceremony sponsored by the Okinawa prefectural government.

When Koizumi in his speech justified the U.S. forces stationed in Okinawa as a contribution to maintaining stability in the Asian Pacific region, an attendant held up a sign which read "I'm against the wartime legislation!" in protest against the prime minister's presence at the ceremony.

There are stone monuments in the park, called the "Cornerstone of Peace," on which names of friend and foe as well as 100,000 civilians are carved.

A 62-year-old woman, in tears at a gravestone on which her family members' names are inscribed, complained about the prime minister's attendance to the ceremony by saying, "I didn't want him to step foot in here." She said, "I'm angry about his remarks on the wartime legislation. As we witnessed in the Okinawa Battle, military forces won't protect people in wars. We, Okinawans, will never be deceived again, no matter what the government says."

A member of the Kita Nakagusuku Village Assembly said, "Our assembly adopted a resolution in opposition to the wartime legislation. If enacted, the legislation will virtually kill Article 9 of the Constitution. It is glaringly contradictory for Koizumi to come and pray for the repose of Okinawan people's souls who died in the Okinawa ground battle while preparing for war." (end )