Latest news with #Himeyuri
The Star
13-05-2025
- General
- The Star
80 years after WWII, Japanese junior high school badge found in Okinawa natural cave
This school badge believed to be from Kainan junior high school was found in a cave in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture. - The Yomiuri Shimbun ITOMAN, Okinawa (Japan): Along with the remains of people who died in World War II, a badge from a junior high school was found recently in a gama, which in the Okinawa dialect means natural cave, in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture. Efforts are underway to identify the remains using the badge, which is believed to be from Kainan junior high school, a private school that was forced to close nine years after its foundation because of the war. The remains may include those of students who were mobilized as student soldiers and died during the fierce Battle of Okinawa, according to people involved in the efforts. Journalist Tetsuji Hamada, 62, who is engaged in efforts to collect articles left by the war dead and return them to their relatives. On April 24, Hamada showed the badge to relatives of war dead who were students at Kainan junior high school, in a meeting room in Naha. 'It may have been placed on the cap of a person who died in the war,' said Hamada, who then encouraged them to apply for the DNA analysis of the remains. The 4-centimeter-long badge was found on Feb. 23 by a group led by Hamada and his wife Ritsuko, 60, in a crevice of a rock at the cave in Itoman where many soldiers and others died during the war. It was determined to be from Kainan junior high school. Tetsuji Hamada, far right, speaks about items that are believed to have been left by people who died in World War II in Okinawa Prefecture in Naha on April 24, 2025. - Photo: The Yomiuri Shimbun According to the Himeyuri Peace Museum in Itoman, the school was founded in 1936 as the only private junior high school in the prefecture in the former village of Maji (now part of Naha). During the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, 68 students from the school were mobilized into military units and 66 lost their lives. The school was closed the same year. Having identified the addresses of relatives of the students through alumni magazines and other materials, the Hamadas have been calling on them to apply for DNA analysis. According to the Health, Labour, and Welfare Ministry, about 1,800 applications have been filed for DNA analysis of the remains of war dead in Okinawa Prefecture since fiscal 2003 when the analysis started. However, the remains of only seven people have been identified. Compared to the remains found in Siberia and other northern regions, those found in the prefecture are said to often be deteriorated, making identification difficult. Remains found during government-led collection efforts are stored by the government, but personal belongings are left at the site as long as they do not bear a name or any other identifying information. 'For the relatives of people whose remains have not been returned, the personal belongings of the war dead serve as precious mementos that connect them to their loved ones,' Hamada said. 'I want to return the items to the relatives as much as possible.' - The Yomiuri Shimbun/ANN
Asahi Shimbun
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
EDITORIAL: Nishida's comments distort history of Battle of Okinawa
It was an extremely insensitive comment that dismissed out of hand the efforts made by the people of Okinawa and others to pass on to future generations the lessons of history by inscribing in memory what transpired during a wretched war. Based on a sloppy understanding of the facts, the speaker himself was the one 'rewriting history' that he claimed took place. Upper House member Shoji Nishida of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party spoke at a symposium sponsored by those supporting amending the Constitution in Naha on Constitution Day, a national holiday held on May 3. Touching upon an explanation at the Himeyuri-no-to memorial for students who died during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II, Nishida repeated his argument that it was 'terrible' and 'rewriting history.' He said the context of the explanation was that, 'The Japanese army kept coming in, and the Himeyuri unit ended up dying. And then the Americans came in and liberated Okinawa.' But the director of the Himeyuri Peace Museum clearly said that such an explanation never existed in the past or now. After his comments were reported in an Okinawa newspaper, Nishida held a news conference and said it was based on his 'impression' from a visit to the site about 20 years ago and that he did not remember the exact wording. He added that if someone else had read the explanation that person might have come up with a different impression. That view must be described as irresponsible because it ignores the facts. During the waning days of the Pacific War, Okinawa was considered a sacrificial pawn before any fighting on the Japanese mainland. A total of 200,000 Japanese and U.S. soldiers and others died in the fierce fighting. Of that number, about 94,000 were said to be Okinawan civilians. It was not a case of those Okinawa residents becoming entangled in the fighting, but the result of military mobilization that called for the military, public and private sectors to live together and die together. At the symposium, Nishida also said that education in Okinawa about the war, including the interpretation of the ground battle, was 'ridiculous' and that 'we have to create a history that we can accept.' He likely wanted to legitimize the decisions made by the government and the military of that time. But the same mistake will likely be repeated from a stance of turning one's eyes away from inconvenient facts and interpreting history in a self-centered manner. While Nishida said it was 'regrettable' if his remarks hurt the Okinawan people, he initially refused to retract his comments because he said they were based on facts. We can only be flabbergasted at his attempt to turn responsibility onto the mass media when he said the problem was with the reporting. The LDP's Okinawa prefectural chapter criticized Nishida's comments and junior coalition partner, Komeito, called for a retraction and an apology. Nishida will be up for re-election in this summer's Upper House election so the question remains as to whether the LDP will officially recognize him as its candidate and whether Komeito will endorse his candidacy. There has not been any noticeable response from Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other LDP executives. Having said an assessment of the past war was important in this 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Ishiba's insight will be called into question. --The Asahi Shimbun, May 9
Kyodo News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Kyodo News
Japan lawmaker "corrects" controversial war memorial remarks
KYODO NEWS - 7 hours ago - 19:04 | All, Japan A hawkish lawmaker of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Friday he will "correct and delete" his controversial remarks that exhibits at a war memorial in Okinawa rewrote the history of one of the fiercest ground battles of World War II. Shoji Nishida, a member of the House of Councillors, apologized to the people of Okinawa, saying his comments at a recent symposium were "extremely inappropriate." During the symposium in Okinawa on Saturday, Nishida took issue with how wartime history is explained at the Himeyuri Peace Museum, which includes a cenotaph built in memory of over 200 female students and teachers who died during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. "I want to apologize to the people of Okinawa and correct and delete my remarks," Nishida told reporters in Tokyo. Nishida's apology came after he initially resisted calls from people in Okinawa and lawmakers of his own party to retract the remarks. Nishida said at the symposium that the exhibits at the museum in Itoman, Okinawa, seem to imply that "Japanese soldiers swarmed (into the area), leading the Himeyuri corps to die. Then, the U.S. troops came to set Okinawa free," prompting the museum to state that there were no such descriptions on its premises. The fate of the Himeyuri student corps is remembered as one of the tragedies of the Battle of Okinawa, in which over 200,000 people, from both the Japanese and U.S. sides, died. Of the corps, 123 girls and 13 teachers died, either in the crossfire between Japanese and U.S. troops or by suicide. Related coverage: Japan imperial couple, Princess Aiko to visit Okinawa WWII sites
09-05-2025
- Politics
LDP's Nishida Retracts Remark on WWII Exhibits
News from Japan Politics May 9, 2025 19:30 (JST) Tokyo, May 9 (Jiji Press)--Shoji Nishida of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday retracted his recent remark criticizing exhibits about members of the "Himeyuri" nursing corps who died in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. Speaking to reporters at the Diet building, Nishida apologized for the remark, saying that the remark was "very inappropriate." He had previously refused to withdraw it. "I lacked consideration, so I apologize to the people of Okinawa," Nishida said. During a symposium in Naha, the capital of the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, on Saturday, Nishida claimed that descriptions at a monument commemorating the Himeyuri corps of female students were rewriting history, informed sources said. According to the sources, he said the descriptions seemed to suggest that Japanese soldiers caused the deaths of Himeyuri members and that U.S. troops liberated Okinawa. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Kyodo News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Kyodo News
Japan lawmaker "corrects" controversial war memorial remarks
KYODO NEWS - 9 minutes ago - 19:04 | All, Japan A hawkish lawmaker of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Friday he will "correct and delete" his controversial remarks that exhibits at a war memorial in Okinawa rewrote the history of one of the fiercest ground battles of World War II. Shoji Nishida, a member of the House of Councillors, apologized to the people of Okinawa, saying his comments at a recent symposium were "extremely inappropriate." During the symposium in Okinawa on Saturday, Nishida took issue with how wartime history is explained at the Himeyuri Peace Museum, which includes a cenotaph built in memory of over 200 female students and teachers who died during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. "I want to apologize to the people of Okinawa and correct and delete my remarks," Nishida told reporters in Tokyo. Nishida's apology came after he initially resisted calls from people in Okinawa and lawmakers of his own party to retract the remarks. Nishida said at the symposium that the exhibits at the museum in Itoman, Okinawa, seem to imply that "Japanese soldiers swarmed (into the area), leading the Himeyuri corps to die. Then, the U.S. troops came to set Okinawa free," prompting the museum to state that there were no such descriptions on its premises. The fate of the Himeyuri student corps is remembered as one of the tragedies of the Battle of Okinawa, in which over 200,000 people, from both the Japanese and U.S. sides, died. Of the corps, 123 girls and 13 teachers died, either in the crossfire between Japanese and U.S. troops or by suicide. Related coverage: Japan imperial couple, Princess Aiko to visit Okinawa WWII sites
