Japan PM Attends Joint U.S.-Japan Memorial Ceremony on Iwoto; Ishiba Emphasizes Commitment to Peace, U.S.-Japan Alliance

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:41 JST, March 29, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visited Iwoto, also known as Iwojima, in Ogasawara, Tokyo, on Saturday to attend a joint U.S.-Japan memorial service for the war dead.

The island was the site of an intense battle during the Pacific War.

Ishiba is the first sitting prime minister to attend the joint U.S.-Japan ceremony, underscoring the commitment to peace and the enduring U.S.-Japan alliance on the 80th anniversary of the war.

Veterans and families of the war dead from both countries attended the annual March ceremony. It was also attended by Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who is the first sitting U.S. secretary of defense to attend the ceremony.

“We must never forget that the peace and prosperity we cherish today are rooted in the noble sacrifices of the war dead and the enduring efforts of our people over the past 80 years since the end of the war,” Ishiba said in his address.

“We are committed to elevating the U.S.-Japan alliance, a force for global peace and prosperity, to unprecedented heights,” Ishiba added, reflecting on the post-war reconciliation between Japan and the United States.

Ishiba is the first sitting prime minister to visit Iwoto since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who attended a government-sponsored memorial service in 2013.

Iwoto was the site of intense fighting between Japanese and U.S. forces that resulted in the deaths of more than 20,000 Japanese and about 7,000 U.S. soldiers in February and March 1945.