On the fifty-fifth anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific, the annual Government-sponsored Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead was held in Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, in the presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress. The approximately 6,300 people attending, including members of families of the war dead, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, and representatives of various fields of life, prayed for the repose of the more than 3 million war dead. Addressing the assembly, the Prime Minister said, "On the occasion of this ceremony in this watershed year marking the end of the twentieth century, once again I inscribe the many lessons of the war deeply on my heart and vow anew to apply all my energy to enabling Japan to contribute still more to world peace and prosperity in the twenty-first century and to build a better society in which people can live fulfilling lives."