1945 Great Tokyo Air Raid Victims Remembered at Memorial Service

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:49 JST, March 10, 2023

A memorial service for victims of the Great Tokyo Air Raid was held Friday to mark the 78th anniversary of the U.S. bombings that killed about 100,000 people toward the end of the Pacific War.

About 100 people attended the service held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall in the capital’s Sumida Ward. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and relatives of the deceased were among those present at the ceremony.

The service was scaled down again this year as part of measures against COVID-19, but 50 members of the public were allowed to enter.

“It’s heartbreaking that conflicts continue in many parts of the world,” said Setsuko Kawai, 83, of Chiba City, who lost her mother and two younger brothers in the bombings. “We mustn’t allow another tragedy like the Tokyo air raid to happen again.”