atomickerJun 23, 2025

80 years after the #BattleOfOkinawa: 'Our sympathies are with the families who lost loved ones leaving emotional scars so deep that, even now, they still haven't healed. Looking at the world today, we are deeply concerned to see all the countries currently at war.'

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250623_12/index.html

#Okinawa #Japan

Battle of Okinawa remembered 80 years on

People in Japan are marking 80 years since the end of the Battle of Okinawa, a campaign of fierce ground fighting during the closing stages of World War Two.

NHK WORLD
The Japan TimesJun 23, 2025
Yoshiko Goya, 88, has never forgetten the days when she desperately tried to flee the ravages of war with her family and relatives during the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/23/japan/society/okinawa-wartime-memories/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #wwii #okinawa #battleofokinawa
Battle of Okinawa 1945: Memories of fire, flight and loss

As an 8-year-old, Yoshiko Goya fled her birthplace with six other family members and relatives. In the end, only three survived.

The Japan Times
The Japan TimesJun 23, 2025
Okinawa marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa on Monday, one of the final land battles of World War II, with solemn reflections on the sacrifices made by the island’s residents. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/23/japan/history/okinawa-80th/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #history #wwii #battleofokinawa #dennytamaki #shigeruishiba #futenma #henoko
Okinawa marks 80th anniversary of Battle of Okinawa’s end

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke of the horrific ground war involving Okinawan residents, noting that 200,000 lives were lost, or about one in four Okinawans.

The Japan Times
The Japan TimesJun 23, 2025
At 16, Yoshimitsu Zukeyama was selected for a suicide squad tasked with crawling under American tanks and detonating explosives during World War II. "I knew then I’d be making my parents cry,” he recalled. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/23/japan/battle-of-okinawa-boy-soldier/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #wwii #battleofokinawa #children
Battle of Okinawa turned child into a 'ghost soldier' still haunted by memories

Emotionally and physically depleted, the boy began to unravel after the war ended, with locals calling him a “ghost soldier.”

The Japan Times
The Japan TimesJun 20, 2025
Residents of Okinawa Prefecture continue to be at the mercy of armed forces many decades after World War II, said an expert working to share testimonies of war survivors in the southernmost prefecture. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/20/japan/okinawa-war-survivors-testimonies/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #wwii #battleofokinawa #usbases #usmilitary
Okinawa remains at mercy of armed forces, says expert

The prefecture hosts many U.S. military bases, following its occupation by U.S. armed forces after Japan's defeat in the Battle of Okinawa in the closing days of World War II.

The Japan Times
Walk NewsJun 9, 2025
https://www.walknews.com/932733/ 天皇ご一家、沖縄で戦没者ご慰霊 佳子さま、ブラジル親善へご出発 | JAPAN Forward #BattleOfOkinawa #EmperorNaruhito #EmpressMasako #JapaneseImperialFamily #Okinawa #PrincessAiko #WorldWarIi #沖縄 #沖縄県 #皇室
The Japan TimesJun 2, 2025
An event has begun on Ie Island in Okinawa Prefecture to read aloud the names of more than 240,000 people killed in fierce battles in the prefecture during World War II. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/02/japan/okinawa-battle-vicitims-names/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #wwii #okinawa #battleofokinawa
Event to read aloud names of victims of Okinawa battles begins

'I sincerely hope that Okinawa's wish for peace will spread' through the event, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki said in an opening speech.

The Japan Times
The Japan TimesJun 2, 2025
With the help of a psychologist and a grief support group, a soldier who fought in World War II faced an atrocity he committed in Okinawa. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/02/japan/okinawa-war-survivor-confession/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #okinawa #wwii #battleofokinawa #psychology
How the scars of war in Okinawa are being healed by a psychologist

A clinical psychologist has formed grief care groups for survivors of war across Okinawa to help try to heal their emotional scars.

The Japan Times
The Japan TimesMay 26, 2025
Around 700 residents in the Kerama Islands were driven to mass suicide during the Battle of Okinawa, but one boy's desperate plea helped the island of Aka escape the same fate. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/05/26/japan/okinawa-island-war-history/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #okinawa #battleofokinawa #akaisland #fukuoka #kyushu #wwii
How a remote island escaped mass suicide in Battle of Okinawa

Residents had been told that, if captured, women would be assaulted and men mutilated by U.S. soldiers.

The Japan Times
The Japan TimesApr 14, 2025
Many war orphans in Okinawa suffered from harsh living conditions and overwhelming loneliness, and the trauma they carried still lingers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/04/14/japan/okinawa-war-orphans/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #okinawa #wwii #battleofokinawa #socialwelfare #children
In Okinawa, war trauma carried by orphans still lingers

“War orphans were pushed to the margins of society after the war,' says one academic.

The Japan Times