Editing National Memorial Service for War Dead

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{{More citations needed|date=October 2016}}

{{Rough translation|1=Japanese|listed=yes|date=April 2023}}

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{{Infobox holiday

|holiday_name = National Memorial War Service for War Dead

|type = national

|image = Yasuo Fukuda 20080815 2.jpg

|imagesize = 250px

|caption =The Japanese Prime Minister addressing the attendees on August 15, 2008

|official_name = 全国戦没者追悼式

|nickname =

|observedby = Japanese

|litcolor =

|longtype = National observance

|significance = A memorial service for military and civilian deaths during WW2, observed on the same day the Japanese Emperor, addressed the Japanese people, to announce the unconditional surrender of the Japanese forces.

|scheduling = same day each year

|date = August 15

|celebrations =

|observances = Memorial service aired by national broadcaster NHK

|relatedto = [[National Liberation Day of Korea]], [[Victory over Japan Day]]

}}

[[File:Yasuo Fukuda 20080815 3.jpg|thumb|right| The ''National Memorial Service for War Dead'', at the indoor arena of the Nippon Budokan, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo, August 15, 2008]]

The {{nihongo|'''National Memorial Service for War Dead'''|全国戦没者追悼式|Zenkoku Senbotsusha Tsuitōshiki'}} is an official, [[secular]] ceremony conducted annually on August 15 by the [[Government of Japan|Japanese government]] at the [[Nippon Budokan]] in Tokyo, Japan. The ceremony is held to commemorate the victims of [[World War II]]. The first memorial ceremony was held on May 2, 1952.

==Shūsen-kinenbi==

{{Nihongo||終戦記念日|'''Shūsen-kinenbi'''|lit. "memorial day for the end of the war"|lead=yes}} or Haisen-kinennbi (Japanese: 敗戦記念日, "surrender memorial day")<ref name=":0" /> also written as {{Nihongo||終戦の日|'''shūsen-no-hi'''|lead=yes}} or haisen-no-hi (Japanese: 敗戦の日)<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=「敗戦の日」を覚えて|url=https://ncc-j.org/event/「敗戦の日」を覚えて/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815200723/https://ncc-j.org/event/%E3%80%8C%E6%95%97%E6%88%A6%E3%81%AE%E6%97%A5%E3%80%8D%E3%82%92%E8%A6%9A%E3%81%88%E3%81%A6/|archive-date=2020-08-15|access-date=2023-05-22|website=日本キリスト教協議会 / National Christian Council in Japan|language=ja}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=62回目の敗戦記念日に思う|url=http://www.y-mainichi.co.jp/news/9042/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-15|website=八重山毎日新聞社 / The Yaeyama-Mainichi Newspapers|language=ja}}</ref> is an informal reference used by the public, for August 15 and related to the historical events that culminated with the ''ending'' of [[World War II]], and the restoration of Japanese political independence.

The official name for the day, however, is {{nihongo|"the day for mourning of war dead and praying for peace"|戦没者を追悼し平和を祈念する日|Senbotsusha o tsuitōshi heiwa o kinensuru hi}}. This official name was adopted in 1982 by an [[Decree|ordinance]] issued by the [[government of Japan|Japanese government]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou/2007/08/h0808-1.html |script-title = ja:厚生労働省：全国戦没者追悼式について |language = ja |access-date = February 16, 2008 |date = August 8, 2007 |publisher = [[Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan)|Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080321222154/http://www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou/2007/08/h0808-1.html |archive-date = March 21, 2008 |url-status = live }}</ref>

Those events were:

*14 August 1945, the Imperial Japanese government gave notice to the [[Allies of World War II]] accepting the conditions of the [[Potsdam Declaration]],

*15 August 1945, the day of the [[Hirohito surrender broadcast|Shōwa surrender broadcast]] announcing to the people of Japan that the Imperial government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration, and unconditional surrender of the armed forces,

*2 September 1945, the official signing of the [[Japanese Instrument of Surrender]] aboard the {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUE03C240T00C22A8000000/|script-title=ja:終戦77年の戦没者追悼式、平和へ祈り|trans-title=Pray for peace. Nationwide memorial for those who died in battle in the seventy-seventh year of the end of the war.|publisher=[[The Nikkei]]|date=August 15, 2022|accessdate=April 3, 2023|language=Japanese}}</ref>

*28 April 1952, the [[Treaty of San Francisco|San Francisco peace treaty with Japan]] came into force which under [[international law]] ended the state war with the [[Allies of World War II|Allied nations]], and returned independence to Japan.

It is not an [[Public holidays in Japan|official holiday]] under Japanese law.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

By decision of the Third Yoshida Cabinet (Prime Minister [[Shigeru Yoshida]]), on 2 May 1952 the [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]] and [[Empress Kōjun]] of Japan held a memorial service for war dead in [[Shinjuku Gyoen]]. The next such service was held on March 28, 1959. In 1963 the date was moved to August 15, the day the {{nihongo|[[Hirohito surrender broadcast]]|玉音放送|''Gyokuon-hōsō''}} had aired in 1945.

[[File:1952 Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead.jpg|thumb|right|The first ceremony, held on May 2, 1952]]

In the following year, the service was held at [[Yasukuni Shrine]], and in 1965 it was moved to the Budokan where it is still held today. In 1982 the [[National Diet]] enacted a law fixing the date of the ceremony to August 15. The service is meant to honor both Japanese military casualties and Japanese [[civilian casualties|civilian victims]] of war, over 30 million deceased individuals in total.

The event is organized by the [[Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare]]. The Emperor and Empress are always in attendance, as well as representatives of business, labor, political, and religious organisations, and bereaved families. Roughly 6,000 attendees were recorded in 2007.

The service is scheduled at 11:51 am for one hour, and is broadcast by the [[NHK|Japan Broadcasting Corporation]].

No invited leader has ever absented himself from the memorial, including those who have criticized visits to Yasukuni Shrine. There has never been a protest from foreign powers about the memorial.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

# Entrance of the [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] and [[Empress of Japan]]

# [[Moment of silence]] (usually at [[noon]])

# Address by [[Emperor of Japan|the Emperor]]

# Addresses by [[Speaker of the House of Representatives (Japan)|Speaker of the House of Representatives]], [[President of the House of Councillors]], [[Chief JusticeofJapan|Chief Justiceofthe Supreme Court]] and Representative for the Bereaved

# Exit of the Emperor and Empress of Japan

* 1988: Emperor Shōwa on his deathbed, is flown to the ceremony by [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force|JGSDF]] [[helicopter]] (without Empress Kōjun).

* 2006: During the Speaker of the House of Representatives [[Yōhei Kōno]]'s speech, an exceptionally clear reference was made to war responsibility.

* 2009: Due to an irregular dissolution of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]], there was no Speaker of the House of Representatives.

* 2011: The moment of silence was accidentally delayed by 26 seconds due to a long speech of Prime Miniter [[Naoto Kan]].

== See also ==

*[[Surrender of Japan]]