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3mo ago

Okinawa Commemorates 80th Anniversary as Volunteers Uncover WWII Remains and Protest New US Air Base

An upsurge in wartime remains recovery by volunteers coincides with renewed opposition to US air base construction on battlefields hallowed by the 1945 conflict.

According to official estimates, only 2,600 bodies from the Battle of Okinawa are yet to be recovered, but residents and long-time volunteers say many more are buried under buildings or farm fields, or hidden in jungles and caves
Takamatsu Gushiken was a 28-year-old scout leader when he was first asked to help search for the war dead, and was shocked to realise there were so many people's remains, in such a vast area
American landing craft arrive on the beaches of Okinawa on April 13, 1945.
Takamatsu Gushiken, a volunteer who recovers the remains of war dead to be reunited with their families, points at the skeletal remains of a person who died in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II, at a forest in Itoman

Overview

  • Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba joined local officials on June 23 to add over 300 names to the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park cenotaph.
  • Volunteers led by Takamatsu Gushiken and the Japan Youth Memorial Association are intensifying searches across jungles and caves to locate an estimated 2,600 unrecovered remains.
  • Nearly 2,000 tons of unexploded US ordnance still lie buried on the island, posing dangers that hamper recovery and land use.
  • Governor Denny Tamaki urged preservation of the battle’s lessons for future generations amid rising global security tensions.
  • Locals have decried the quarrying of soil from former battlefield sites for a new US air base, warning it risks disturbing sacred war graves.