09-08-2025
Japan, India commemorate WWII Battle of Imphal
A memorial service has been held in northeastern India to remember those who died in one of the fiercest battles of World War Two.
In what is known as the Battle of Imphal, the Japanese Imperial Army launched an offensive in 1944 to capture the area then under British control.
An estimated 30,000 Japanese soldiers died as they fought with limited supplies. Many also succumbed to hunger and malaria.
Japan's Ambassador to India, Ono Keiichi, laid flowers at a monument in the outskirts of Imphal on Saturday.
Ono said at the memorial service, "We should never forget that war robs everything and gives nothing."
A peace museum built with Japanese support opened in the area six years ago. Bayonets, canteens and other personal belongings of Japanese soldiers are on display. Visitors can also read the names of civilian victims and their ages.
A 95-year-old local survivor who was displaced by the conflict, and who worked to build the monument, stressed the importance of passing on the horrors of the war.
The man said many soldiers fought fierce battles here and lost their lives. But today, he said, they all rest in peace, friend and foe alike.
