Overview

• Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attended the Ministry of Defense service on October 11, delivering a eulogy and vowing to carry on the will of the fallen.
• He observed a moment of silence and laid flowers as part of the official commemoration.
• Those remembered included two Air Self-Defense Force crew members killed in a May T-4 trainer crash in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture.
• Ishiba framed proper honor, improved treatment for service members, and support for bereaved families as duties of the state.
• Defense Minister Gen Nakatani called SDF personnel the greatest foundation of Japan’s defense and described the loss of members as a major national sorrow.