Photo/Illutration Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako offer a minute of silent prayer to pay tribute to the nation's war dead during a ceremony held Aug. 15 at the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. (Pool)

Japan on Aug. 15 paid tribute to its war dead in a government ceremony in Tokyo marking the 76th anniversary of the country's surrender in World War II by significantly scaling back the number of attendees due to the novel coronavirus pandemic raging in the capital and elsewhere.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako offered one minute of silent prayer at noon alongside Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and dozens of relatives representing the 3.1 million Japanese who lost their lives in the war. 

They were among 185 people who attended the proceedings held at the Nippon Budokan hall, a record low. This year’s event marked the first time for no spouses of the war dead to show up since 1963, when the first ceremony organized by the government was held.

“Looking back on the long period of postwar peace, reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse, I earnestly hope that the ravages of war will never again be repeated,” the emperor said in his address, echoing sentiments he made at last year's event.

Naruhito also expressed his hope that people in Japan will strive to overcome the deepening public health crisis.

“I sincerely hope that we all work together with an even greater unity of mind to overcome this difficult situation and continue to seek happiness of the people and world peace,” he said.

Suga, in his speech, said Japanese will never forget, even for a moment, that the peace and prosperity Japanese enjoy today was built on the lives lost in the war and history of sufferings.

He vowed that Japan will never wage war again and said the country remains deeply committed to maintaining peace.

Like his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, Suga did not refer to Japan's war responsibility.

All prime ministers since Morihiro Hosokawa in 1993 have made some reference to Japan's aggression in Asia by citing “deep remorse” or offering “condolences” to Asian countries during the ceremony.

But Abe made no such mention when he spoke at the annual event during the nearly eight years he held power from late 2012.

Hiroshi Kakihara, an 85-year-old resident from Hyogo Prefecture, gave a speech representing bereaved families. His father, Teruji, died of an illness that developed after he served at the front in China during the war.

Kakihara was among 92 relatives of the war dead who attended the ceremony, including those who escorted the aged survivors. The number of relatives had averaged about 5,000 in recent years.

But when the pandemic struck last year, attendance by relatives was sharply scaled back to 193 for the 2020 ceremony.

The memorial service was further downsized this year as bereaved families from 22 prefectures did not attend because Tokyo remains under a state of emergency due to a steep surge in new COVID-19 cases.

The oldest family member present this Aug. 15 was Shoji Nagaya, a 94-year-old man from Hokkaido, while the youngest was Eigo Udagawa, 16, of Tokyo.

The welfare ministry streamed the memorial live on YouTube for those who could not attend.

Attendees were seated 1 meter from each other as a precaution against the virus. The national anthem was played, but attendees were not asked to join in as a precaution against the infectious disease.

(This story was written by Ryuichi Hisanaga and Taro Kotegawa.)

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