On the 15th, the 77th anniversary of the end of the war, a government-sponsored national memorial service for the war dead is being held in Tokyo to commemorate the approximately 3.1 million war dead who died.

Representatives of bereaved families from all over the country attended the ceremony held at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.



This year's ceremony was held without restrictions on movement for the first time since the corona crisis, and although four prefectures gave up on attending the representatives of the bereaved families, the number of attendees was 973 as of 11:30 am, which was the lowest last year. is higher than



After the Emperor and Empress arrived at the ceremony, the national anthem was played, and the singing was not performed this year to prevent infection.



Following this, Prime Minister Kishida said, "We will never repeat the ravages of war. We will continue to carry out this resolute oath. In a world where conflicts are still rife, Japan is committed to proactive pacifism. Under the flag, we will do our utmost to solve the various problems facing the world while working together with the international community," he said, and all the participants observed a minute's silence.



It has been 77 years since the end of the war, and the number of attendees is also aging, with nearly 80% of those over the age of 70.



The oldest participant, Takuji Sawasaki, 95 years old, lives in Hiroshima Prefecture. In 1945, he lost his older brother Susumu (then 34), who was dispatched to the Philippines as a military doctor. In 1947, I lost my older brother Genji (then 26), who had been detained, to an illness.



Saki Sawa said, “I attended the ceremony because I wanted my brother to feel at ease when he saw me now. I never want to make you feel like that," he said.



Manyo Isono, a 7-year-old second-grade elementary school student from Kochi Prefecture who attended as a bereaved family member to pass on the memory of the war, said that her great-grandfather Shigehisa Yoshikawa (then 30) lived in eastern New Guinea and her great-uncle Kumon. Mr. Yoshio (then 23) died in China.



At the ceremony, attendees lay chrysanthemums on the altar to comfort the spirits of the approximately 3.1 million war victims.



The state of the ceremony is also distributed simultaneously on "YouTube".