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[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the Memorial Ceremony to Commemorate the Fallen on the 70th Anniversary of the End of the Battle of Okinawa, held in Okinawa Prefecture.

The Prime Minister offered flowers at the National Cemetery for the War Dead in Okinawa, and then during the memorial ceremony held at the Peace Memorial Park, observed a minute of silence at noon. Following this, the Prime Minister offered a flower and delivered an address. Finally, the Prime Minister offered flowers at the Shimamori Monument.

After the memorial ceremony, the Prime Minister said,

“70 years ago, over 200,000 precious lives were lost here in Okinawa. Today I have once again conveyed my feelings of sincere mourning for the souls of those who perished on the battlefields concerned about their families, and reflected on the anguishing history of Okinawa following the end of the Second World War.

Yesterday, it was highly positive that both President Park Geun-hye and I attended ceremonies in the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan respectively to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-ROK relations.

Also, at the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the previous day, Japan and the ROK agreed to work together in regard to the inscription of the industrial heritage of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and I believe that this will be truly beneficial for both countries.

We also agreed that our two countries will work together towards the holding of a Japan-ROK-China Summit Meeting.

Building on the momentum of these improvements, I hope to hold a Japan-ROK Summit Meeting, as well as work to further improve and develop bilateral relations.”

On receiving questions from the press on the construction of the base at Henoko, the Prime Minister said,

“It is not acceptable that, even now, 70 years after the end of the war, Okinawa is still bearing a heavy burden imposed by the bases. I believe that it is the responsibility of politics to alleviate these burdens one by one.

It is a fact that, during the last two and a half years, we are moving forward towards achieving the alleviation of the burden of the bases, through measures such as the transfer to Iwakuni of all 15 tanker planes that were deployed at Futenma, and the complete return of the West Futenma Housing Area. Moreover, since the existence of US bases in Japan is important for the safety and security of our country, I believe that it is important for all of the people of Japan to share the burden of the bases among them.

It is absolutely essential that we do not allow Futenma Air Station to remain at its current location indefinitely.

I intend to continue to provide thorough and careful explanations to the Governor and all the people of Okinawa Prefecture, including on the progress that is being made to alleviate the burden of the bases in Okinawa as a whole.”