ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER ISHIBA FOR THE MEMORIAL CEREMONY TO COMMEMORATE THE FALLEN ON THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE BATTLE OF OKINAWA

TOKYO, June 23 -- Prime Minister and His Cabinet issued the following highlight:

As we conduct this Memorial Ceremony to Commemorate the Fallen on the 80th Anniversary of the End of the Battle of Okinawa, I wish to express my heartfelt mourning for the souls of those who perished on the battlefields as well as those who died amid the ravages of war during the Battle of Okinawa.

During the war, Okinawa was the scene of a horrifying ground battle that engulfed local residents, claiming the precious lives of 200,000 people.

Even young students who should have been walking a path toward a future filled with hope, such as the Himeyuri Student Corps and the Iron and Blood Imperial Corps, were forced onto the battlefields, where they lost their...