National Memorial Service for War Dead: Difference between revisions

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.

{{Nihongo||終戦記念日|'''Shūsen-kinenbi'''|lit. "memorial day for the end ofthe 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|last=author|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=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-08-15|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/|url-status=live|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:

*14August 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,

*2September 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>

*28April 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,

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.

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 at 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.

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

# 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

* 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 Repesentatives]], 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]].