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PHOTO BY TARO FUJIMOTO

Saturday 16th August, 01:00 AM JST

People attend the government sponsored memorial ceremony for the victims of WWII at the Budokan in Tokyo on Friday.

14 Comments

michiyo84 at 06:57 AM JST - 16th August

a very emotional picture...
haytkayokomiya at 07:59 AM JST - 16th August

Did the memorial include Chinese, Filipino, Indonesean, Thai, Micronesean, New Guinean, Korean, Burmese, etc. or just the Japanese victims?
TheNewZen at 08:01 AM JST - 16th August

More details about the event here:

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080815p2a00m0na016000c.html
eresay at 08:09 AM JST - 16th August

What a tasteless photo. Showing people grieving. What next JT, pictures of people mourning at funerals? Did you have the consent of these people to publish this photo?

No class.
bamboohat at 08:25 AM JST - 16th August

eresay, why do you think this fools are so blatantly grieving? they KNOW there photo is being taken.
Betzee at 09:22 AM JST - 16th August

Fukuda, who attended the ceremony for the first time as prime minister, apologized in his address for Japan's responsibility for atrocities in Asian countries and pledged that Japan will contribute to lasting peace in the world.

By contrast, I don't think the United States needs to apologize for dropping the atomic bombs which brought this bloody conflict to a conclusion. But I think it's appropriate to mourn the victims.
yukotojo at 09:40 AM JST - 16th August

Betzee, I think you just put your foot in your mouth. Drop the bomb was okay, mourn the victims, don't apologize ! Are you a human being ?
Betzee at 10:09 AM JST - 16th August

Betzee, I think you just put your foot in your mouth. Drop the bomb was okay, mourn the victims, don't apologize ! Are you a human being ?

I don't see a conflict (and it took me a long time to get to this place). The bombs ended the war which everyone can agree was a good thing. At the same time, to accomplish that it was necessary to take the lives of 220,000 civilians, the magnitude of their deaths was a decisive factor in the Japanese decision to surrender which ended the conflict. But we can all mourn their loss as human beings who are capable of compassion.
USNinJapan2 at 10:34 AM JST - 16th August

haytkayokomiya

Did the memorial include Chinese, Filipino, Indonesean, Thai, Micronesean, New Guinean, Korean, Burmese, etc. or just the Japanese victims?

Sorry to disappoint you but the memorial was for all war dead, regardless of nationality.
noborito at 11:16 AM JST - 16th August

Sorry, but the US ended the war by using the bomb. People who know modern Japanese can sense, Japan would have never surrendered. Just think 50 years ago and now, Japan is a very very different place. Even today western looking people are not accepted or even welcome. While Tokyo and Osaka have opened up a little, even these places, the leaders are not welcoming to foreigners even today. (Let's look at Isehara the Gov. of Tokyo for example) 50 years ago I believe that ever Japanese person would either of killed themselves or fought to kill as many US servicemen as they could in the process. While the bomb can never be used again, because it is nearly 1000 times more powerful now than then, the bomb did save lives, both Japanese and American. In addition a lot of people seem to forget, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were major war producing industrial centers. They were in the business of making war ships, guns, and research of their own Atomic weapons. War is ugly, but I don't think America needs to apologizes for anything.
Pukey2 at 12:17 PM JST - 16th August

yukotojo:

And wasn't it your granddaddy who criticized the people for being scared of the bombs? And didn't he want to continue with the war? there's no doubt he loved his country. but it's a pity he couldn't give a sh*t about the country's people. he and his comrades were responsible for the war and everything that led to the end. if he had his way, there would never have been an end until the last japanese died.
rondh69 at 12:21 PM JST - 16th August

"because it is nearly 1000 times more powerful now than then" - no, actually they come in all sizes with different radiation and blast effects now, and some tactical weapons are actually 1 or less kiloton (kt). Largest weapon ever tested was a Russian 60-70 megaton device, but they only did it once. Standard modern strategic type MIRVed weapon is about 300 kt, which is about 10 times the yield of the Hiroshima device...
haytkayokomiya at 01:50 PM JST - 16th August

It's about time they admit that they weren't the only victims. Now only if they could apologize for their contribution in the start of hostilities, as well as the war crimes.
lovevictim at 01:59 PM JST - 18th August

Why do many of posters here focus only on the political aspect? Why can't they understand the fact people are feeling sad about the war and loved ones they have lost? Just only blaming ordinary people and politicizing issues in a hostile way (some may call this "critical") make something productive for the future? If some of you have really talked with those experienced wars and families of victims, you would not say such inhuman things. Unproductive and backward comments.very sad.