Victims of WWII Mass Suicide Mourned in Okinawa

Yomitan, Okinawa Pref., April 5 (Jiji Press)--Some 100 people, including bereaved families, on Saturday mourned those who committed mass suicide at a cave in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, 80 years ago in the final stages of World War II.

They offered a silent prayer and incense sticks to the altar, while praying for lasting peace, in a memorial service at the Chibichiri Gama cave in the village of Yomitan.

The mass suicide occurred in April 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa, the largest ground battle in Japan during the war.

"We do not want a tragic war to happen again," Norio Yonaha, 70, head of a group of bereaved families, who lost five relatives including his grandparents in the mass suicide, said in a speech. "We have an obligation to pass on the baton of peace to future generations."

His older brother, Tokuichi, 82, said in a separate speech, "Wars are taking place in various parts of the world, so we wish world peace from Chibichiri Gama."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]