Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa is observing on Thursday the 66th anniversary of the end of fierce battles in the final days of World War Two.
About 5,000 people, including relatives of war dead, attended a ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, where the last of the major fighting took place.
The participants observed a minute of silence for the souls of the dead. More than 200,000 people, including one in every 4 Okinawa residents, were killed in the Battle of Okinawa between the now-defunct Japanese Imperial Army and US forces.
Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima said in his peace declaration that the people of Okinawa continue to bear an excessive burden in hosting US bases, troubled by base-related crimes, accidents and noise.
Nakaima said he will continue pressing the governments of Japan and the US to quickly move the US Marine Corps Futenma air station outside Okinawa. He said he will also urge them to drastically revise the bilateral agreement on the status of US forces in Japan.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said it is truly shameful that Okinawa has yet to be relieved of the burden imposed by the US bases even 39 years after its reversion to Japan. He promised that the central government will do all it can to reduce the burden and danger from the bases.
Ahead of the ceremony, Kan offered flowers at a national cemetery in Itoman for those killed in the Okinawa battle.
About 1,200 people paraded the streets for about 8.5 kilometers to the memorial park in the 50th annual peace march.
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