Overview
- Led by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and Princess Aiko laid white flowers and bowed at the hall in Sumida Ward.
- They spoke with four bereaved relatives, including Hiroyuki Ohinata, to whom the Emperor said, "I am very sorry."
- Ohinata said eight family members were killed and expressed hope for lasting peace, which the Imperial Family acknowledged with nods.
- Princess Aiko asked a survivor about people fleeing to a river, and she and the Empress offered condolences, saying, "You must have had a hard time."
- The memorial preserves the remains of about 105,000 victims, and about 140 attendees observed the ceremony as part of this year’s 80th‑anniversary remembrance visits that also included Iwoto, Okinawa, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.