Okinawa prefectural Peace memorial Museum-2007-06-27 4

is a public holiday observed in Japan's

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

annually on June 23 to remember the lives lost during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

. It is not celebrated nationally throughout Japan. The Battle of Okinawa was the only ground engagement of the Pacific War fought on Japanese soil. Over 240,000 people died and numerous buildings on the island were destroyed along with countless historical documents, artifacts and cultural treasures. It is estimated that about the half of the war victims were local Okinawan residents, among them childre

History

In the

, Japanese soldiers as well as inhabitants, were pushed into the Southern border of Okinawa and

Mitsuru Ushijima was a Japanese general who served during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. He was the commanding general of the 32nd Army, which fought in the Battle of Okinawa during the final stages of the war. Ushijima's troops were defeated, ...

and

Isamu Chō was an officer in the Imperial Japanese Army known for his support of ultranationalist politics and involvement in a number of attempted coup d'états in pre-World War II Japan. Biography Chō was a native of Fukuoka prefecture. He graduated ...

, top generals committed suicide on June 22 or 23, 1945. During the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

, in 1961, Okinawa Memorial Day was made a holiday by the

Government of the Ryukyu Islands The was the self-government of native Okinawans during the American occupation of Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa. It was created by proclamation of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR) on April 1, 1952, and was ab ...

in order to remember and pray for their family members and relatives who were killed during the Battle of Okinawa. In 1972, when Okinawa was returned to Japan, Okinawa Memorial Day lost its recognition as a holiday, but this was restored by the prefectural government in 1991. In Okinawa, it is treated like one of the Japanese national public holidays.

Cornerstone of Peace

The Cornerstone of Peace is a monument in Itoman commemorating the Battle of Okinawa and the role of Okinawa during World War II. The names of over two hundred and forty thousand people who died are inscribed on the memorial. It was unveiled on June 23, 1995, in memory of the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa and the end of World War II at Mabuni, Okinawa. It was erected to: (1) Remember those lost in the war, and pray for peace; (2) Pass on the lessons of war; and (3) Serve as a place for meditation and learning. Another expression is Okinawa Peace Park. On June 23, or Okinawa Memorial Day, memorial services are held every year with the attendance of the prime minister. {{Japan Holidays Culture in Okinawa Prefecture Remembrance days Public holidays in Japan June observances 1961 establishments in Japan