The government on Monday held a ceremony to honor the nation’s war dead at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo, where the unidentified remains of Japanese soldiers are interred.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Princess Kako, the second daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, attended the service along with Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Kenichiro Ueno and about 430 bereaved family members.
This year, the remains of 193 soldiers that were interred in Russia, Ioto (Iwo Jima), the Mariana Islands, Solomon Islands and other places, and whose identities are unknown and could not be handed over to their families, were added to the cemetery.
Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery was built in 1959 to house the remains of unidentified Japanese who died overseas during World War II. The memorial currently honors 371,167 dead, mainly soldiers, whose remains have been returned to Japan, but also some civilians who died overseas.
© Japan Today
