is a national Japanese cemetery and memorial for 352,297 unidentified war dead of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, located near the inner moat of the Imperial Palace and

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

.__NOTOC__

Overview

The recovery of remains from the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

presented an unprecedented problem for the Japanese government, as some soldiers could not be identified due to harsh battlefield conditions, and the families of others had perished in the extensive

air raids on Japan During the Pacific War, Allies of World War II, Allied forces conducted air raids on Japan from 1942 to 1945, causing extensive destruction to the country's cities and killing between 241,000 and 900,000 people. During the first years of the Pa ...

and

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...

. In 1952, the recovery committee began storing human remains in the offices of the Ministry of Welfare while it sought a more permanent structure to house and honor the dead. In 1953 the Cabinet of the Prime Minister ordered a " tomb of the unknown soldier" constructed, the site was purchased in 1956, and it was completed in March 1959. It is a public institution and is infrequently visited by the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

and

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. The cemetery is sometimes mentioned in connection with the

debate, but Chidorigafuchi serves a separate purpose. The cemetery houses the actual remains of unidentified soldiers, in place of the usual family grave. Yasukuni Shrine is a privately run facility which honors not only unidentified soldiers from the Pacific War but all people who died for the sake of the country. However, in 2006 a Liberal Democratic Party leader proposed that the cemetery be expanded so that it might honor all war dead in a way akin to

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

. 山崎氏、千鳥ケ淵墓苑が最有力候補地と指摘産経新聞 2006年7月2日

Notable burials

* Tadayoshi Koga

References

External links

Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery
by Ministry of the Environment {{Coord, 35, 41, 24, N, 139, 44, 49, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title 1959 establishments in Japan Cemeteries in Japan Tourist attractions in Tokyo Buildings and structures in Chiyoda, Tokyo National cemeteries

Overview

Notable burials

See also

References

External links