Memorial Service Marks 81st Anniversary of Tokyo Air Raid; Crown Prince and Princess Attend Ceremony

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:24 JST, March 10, 2026

A memorial service for victims of the Great Tokyo Air Raid was held Tuesday, marking 81 years since the attack, which claimed about 100,000 lives.

The ceremony took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall in Sumida Ward, Tokyo. It was attended by Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, as well as Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and bereaved family members.

A fleet of U.S. B-29 bombers unleashed a torrent of incendiary bombs over what is now Sumida Ward and other areas during the Great Tokyo Air Raid in the pre-dawn hours of March 10, 1945.

Amid a cold rain on Tuesday, a steady flow of people laid floral tributes at a stand in front of the hall from early morning.

“I come here every year because I never want to forget my aunt and cousins, whose remains were never recovered,” said an 81-year-old woman from Abiko, Chiba Prefecture. She lost her aunt and four young cousins.

“I hope there will never be another war that drags in so many civilians,” she said.