Japan Press Weekly

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2015 March 4 - 10 TOP3 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

People commemorate victims of Great Tokyo Air Raid

Marking the 70th anniversary of the Great Tokyo Air Raid, a memorial ceremony took place on March 9 in front of the monument for victims at Ueno Park in Tokyo, with many people taking part, including schoolchildren.

Before dawn on March 10, 1945, more than 300 U.S. B-29 bombers dropped an enormous number of napalm bombs on the area of eastern downtown Tokyo, which was crowded with wooden houses. The two-hour-long bombing run burned the entire area to the ground, and over 100,000 people were killed in that single day.

Essayist Ebina Kayoko, an organizer of this memorial ceremony, lost her parents and three brothers in the bombing. “As long as I live, I will continue to work so that people around the world can become friends,” she said.

A 12-year-old girl said, “We must prevent war from occurring because it can take everything away from us in a moment.”

Japanese Communist Party Vice Chair Ichida Tadayoshi and Upper House member Kira Yoshiko attended the ceremony.


Past related article:
> Top court rejects Tokyo air raid victims’ demands [May 10, 2013]