今日のテキスト PRAYING FOR PEACE

In the final phase of World War II, the Imperial Japanese military and U.S.-led allied forces engaged in fierce battles throughout the Pacific. Okinawa was the site of the last major ground confrontation of the war. More than 200,000 people were killed, nearly half of them civilians. Japanese military operations there ended 70 years ago on June 23rd.
Prefectural officials organized a memorial ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman. Governor Takeshi Onaga told the audience that residents of the prefecture continue to bear a heavy burden.

(Takeshi Onaga / Okinawa Governor)
"Okinawa Prefecture accounts for only 0.6 percent of Japan's land area, but it is home to as much as 73.8 percent of the U.S. military facilities that are in Japan under the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. This excessive burden continues to affect people's everyday lives and Okinawa's development."

Onaga called on the central government to halt efforts to relocate a U.S. base within his prefecture.