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| Top What's up around the Prime Minister August, 2002 |
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Prime Minister Attends Memorial Service
for the War Dead Thursday, August 15, 2002
On the fifty-seventh anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific, the annual Government-sponsored Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead was held in the Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, in the presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress. Approximately 7,000 people attended, including members of families of the war dead and representatives of various fields of life. After Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi delivered an address, the gathering paid a silent tribute at noon and prayed for the repose of the more than 3 million war dead.
Addressing the assembly, Prime Minister Koizumi stated, "This year marks the fiftieth anniversary since the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into effect and Japan regained its sovereignty. Firmly maintaining the nation's antiwar pledge, I will make utmost efforts so that Japan further develops its friendly relations with neighboring countries, and as a member of the international community, contributes to establishing everlasting peace and works toward realizing a society in which the lives of the people can be enriched." |
