Photos bring dark Okinawa story to lightーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
june 23rd will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of fierce World War II battles in Okinawa archival photos discovered on the islands tell a gripping story and HK World’s Ichawa Kanako brings a dark chapter of history to light starting with one picture this aerial photo was taken in 1971 by the local government one year before Okinawa was returned to Japan the blacked out area holds historic significance tokashiki is west of the main island of Okinawa the darken spot is today home to the National Okinawa Youth Flip Center such a rare photo yamaza is the center’s director he gave me a tour of the educational facility while on the site he told me a US military base used to be there this area used to be a missile repair base missiles were installed in launchers here i found a photo in the prefectures archive center showing what this area was like back then in less US missiles and equipment the site was inaccessible to civilians until its return to Japan in 1972 our research also turned up an image from before the US base was built it shows the unveiling ceremony of a senate of mourning islanders who died in the battle of Okinawa across the prefecture the fighting cost the lives of about 200,000 or one in four civilians 84year-old Zami Masashig was only four at the time of the battle he and his family fled to this higher ground as the US military closed in during the war a mass suicide took place in the valley down there on March 27th 1945 US troops landed on Tokashiki Island amidst the chaos the next day more than 300 residents committed mass suicide methods included detonating hand grenades and choking with rope according to Tokashiki village officials 330 people died in the tragedy on the day I was walking in the rain pulled by the hand i remember everyone yelling irelanders built this senator to m victims zami also carried sand and stones to the site to help with construction however the tower was removed to make way for the US base since Okinawa’s reversion to Japan Zamami has been shelling stories of local tragedies and conveying the preciousness of peace we finally have a facility here that can be used for peace i think the most important thing is to let people learn about the past i only hope this center remains forever and peace will continue in a place formally blacked out in official images photos tell of memories that should not be forgotten and HK
Archival Okinawa photos show the history of the 80 years since the end of World War II. An NHK World camerawoman brings a dark chapter of history to light using the images of a single spot. #japan #okinawa #photography #photo #ww2 #history
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