TOKYO, March 11 (Kyodo) - Tokyo marked the 63rd anniversary Monday of U. S. air raids on the capital during World War II, holding ceremonies and events in memory of the about 100,000 victims of the bombings.
A memorial service was held Monday morning at a hall in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward where the remains of many of the unidentified victims were placed, with some 320 attending to pray for the victims and reaffirm their will to seek peace.
”We pledge not to repeat the horror of war, and will work to realize world peace,” Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara said in a memorial address.
The Tokyo metropolitan government designates March 10 as ”Peace Day. ” Following the address, Prince Hitachi, the brother of Emperor Akihito, and his wife Princess Hanako offered incense, followed by representatives of the victims and other ordinary attendants.
”Many of my classmates burned to death,” said Kikuko Sato, 78, who attends the service every year.
”Many people died in the river. I don’t want war anymore.”
On March 10, 1945, more than 300 U. S. B-29 bombers dropped incendiary bombs on parts of the capital, particularly on populous residential areas in eastern Tokyo.
It is estimated that more than 100,000 people died.
There are no accurate reports of the damage from the bombing.
But it is widely said that about 270,000 houses burned down and 40 square kilometers of the metropolis were destroyed.
After the March 10 raids, the United States attacked other cities and towns across Japan, and dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.
The war ended Aug. 15 that year. (Kyodo)