Today marks the 70th anniversary of the end of organized resistance by Japanese military forces in the Battle of Okinawa. It is all the more important for Japan to remember not only the horror and cruelty that people in Okinawa suffered in the battle but also the hardships they have experienced due to the heavy presence of the U.S. military in Okinawa Prefecture in the postwar period. The anniversary should serve as an opportunity for Japan to resolve to make strenuous efforts to reduce the burden Okinawans continue to bear — as well as to renew its vow to never to start a war again.
The Battle of Okinawa, code-named Operation Iceberg by the United States, began on March 26, 1945, as U.S. forces landed on the Kerama Islands, about 10 km west of the main island of Okinawa. On April 1, they landed on the western coast of the central part of Okinawa Island. It was the only ground battle fought in Japan during World War II in which local residents were directly exposed to the terror of combat.
The casualties caused by the Battle of Okinawa were enormous. More than 240,000 combatants and non-combatants died, including some 150,000 Okinawans — about a quarter of the population. About 94,000 of the Okinawans killed were civilians. The U.S. lost some 14,000 servicemen while the Japanese military lost more than 70,000.
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