Three days will mark 79 years since urban fighting between the former Japanese and American forces began in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, at the end of the Pacific War, and a ceremony was held locally to commemorate the approximately 100,000 victims. The bereaved families appealed, ``Please do not forget the victims.''
On the 3rd, a memorial ceremony was held in front of the Cenotaph for the Battle of Manila in Manila's Old City, with around 200 people including families of the victims and students gathered.
In the Philippines, beginning on February 3, 1945, during the final stages of the Pacific War, a month-long fierce urban battle took place between the former Japanese army and the American army, who were occupying the city of Manila.
Philippine authorities say that approximately 100,000 civilians died in the fighting or were killed by the former Japanese army, but as the victims were buried in groups after the fighting ended, detailed identification of their identities is still difficult. It's not progressing.
At the ceremony, a man who lost three family members laid a wreath at the memorial, and said, ``Many of the surviving family members were unable to find their immediate family members due to the circumstances in which they were killed or the prolonged fighting.'' I greeted him on behalf of his bereaved family.
A 19-year-old female student who attended the ceremony said, ``It's scary and frightening. We must not forget history so that we don't repeat the same thing.''
After the ceremony, a representative of the bereaved families said, ``Please don't forget the victims. I want you to remember them and make sure that something like this never happens again.''