The "Peace March" was held for the first time in four years after the cancellation of the Corona disaster, in which the families of the war dead of the Battle of Okinawa walked through the former fierce battlefield with a wish for peace.
Against the backdrop of the aging of the bereaved families, for the first time, the walking distance has been reduced to half of the previous level.
The "Peace March" has been held every year to coincide with the "Memorial Day" in Okinawa Prefecture, but it was held for the first time in four years after being canceled due to the corona disaster.
About 4 people, including bereaved families from inside and outside the prefecture, departed near the Himeyuri Tower in Itoman City at 300 a.m. and walked for about 9 kilometers through the area that was once a fierce battlefield.
Against the backdrop of the aging of the bereaved families, the distance was shortened to half for the first time, and the participants arrived at the Peace Memorial Park about an hour and a half later, around 4:1 a.m.
A 84-year-old female junior high school student living in Itoman City, who participated with her 14-year-old grandfather, said, "When I walk, I feel that war should never happen again, and I hope that Okinawa will continue to be as peaceful as it is now."
Naeko Teruya, 5, who lost five family members in the Battle of Okinawa, said, "When I was fleeing around Itoman, my family died when I was hit by a mortar, and I wish I had fled to a different place even now. War is the devil. I hope that young people will talk about June 87 and create a society free of war."