Japan marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II

Japan marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II

Emperor Naruhito has expressed "deep regret" over Japan's role in World War II.

He said this was on the 75th anniversary of his country's surrender in the war.

"I sincerely hope that the devastation of the war will never happen again," he said in a brief speech at a state event in Tokyo on Saturday in memory of those killed in the war.

And Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has promised that "this tragedy will never happen again."
"The tragic war will not be repeated. We will remain committed to this firm commitment, ”said Abe, wearing a face mask. Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, the scope of the event was short. Where last time more than 6,000 people were present, this time around 500 people were present, and wearing face masks was compulsory.

Earlier, Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, paid their respects by bowing together at an altar in front of a section decorated with flowers. They were both wearing face masks.

Naruhito, 70, is the grandson of Emperor Hirohito of World War II Japan. Naruhito was the first emperor of Japan to be born after that war. He ascended the throne after his father, Akihito, left the throne last year.

On the day of Japan's surrender, the Japanese prime minister sent an offering to Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Temple, intended for war victims, but he did not attend. But four of his cabinet ministers visited the temple, which could upset China and South Korea, the BBC reported.

This is the first time in four years that senior politicians of this stature have visited the temple. They also paid tribute to the memory of those killed in the war, as well as to the memory of 14 Japanese leaders during World War II who were convicted of war crimes at an Allied tribunal, Reuters reported.

Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. And from 1931 to 1945, the forces of the Japanese Empire occupied a large part of China.

In September 1940, Japan joined World War II by attacking Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, USA. In response, the United States joined Allied forces in World War II in 1941.

Within days of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945, on August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced the end of the war for the first time on the radio. Then on September 2, the country officially signed the surrender document.