A visitor sits at the Cornerstone of Peace during the annual Irei no Hi ceremony at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa, Japan, June 23, 2026. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
ITOMAN, Okinawa — Thousands gathered at Peace Memorial Park on Tuesday to reflect on the horrors of war during ceremonies marking the 81st anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa.
Approximately 3,200 people endured summer heat and humidity to pay tribute on Irei No Hi — Okinawa’s memorial day. They prayed and placed food, incense and other offerings next to the names of loved ones inscribed on the Cornerstone of Peace, which holds the names of more than 240,000 who died during or after the battle.
Pauline Itcea Iriarte of San Diego came to remember her uncle, Army Pfc. Alejandro Itcea, a Basque-American. Okinawa prefecture this year corrected the spelling of his name on the memorial, and added another Basque-American, Marine Cpl. Felix Ordoquihandy.
“We grew up in the states as children going to the cemeteries where our grandparents were buried, my great aunts and uncles, and Alejandro,” she told Stars and Stripes. “So, coming here to Okinawa was really an extension of that, and very moving to see his name inscribed.”
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki in remarks during the ceremony said the battle’s memory “remains in Okinawa from its easternmost to its westernmost and northernmost to southernmost corners.”
He protested the “heavy burden” of U.S. military bases on the island and ongoing construction of a new Marine Corps airfield on Camp Schwab to replace Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. He called for a “solution through dialogue” between the U.S. and Japan “rather than a unilateral imposition.”
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in her first Irei No Hi speech, offered condolences to “the souls of those who perished” in the battle. She added that her government will “work to consolidate, reduce and streamline U.S. military facilities and areas in Japan.”
“Our nation has progressed as a peace-loving state, guided by a resolute vow never to repeat the horrors of war,” she said. “We pledge to the spirits of those who perished that we will continue our unwavering efforts to realize a society where all Japanese people can live in peace and prosperity.”
Prime Minister of Japan Sanae Takaichi prepares to bow during Irei no Hi, a memorial observance to those who died during the Battle of Okinawa, at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa, Japan, June 23, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
Pauline Itcea Iriarte, niece of Basque-American Army Pfc. Alejandro Itcea, touches her uncle's name on the Cornerstone of Peace memorial at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman city, Okinawa, Japan, June 23, 2026. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
Brig. Gen. John Gallemore, left, commander of the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, speaks with service members prior to laying two wreaths at the Cornerstone of Peace at Peace Memorial Park, in Itoman, Okinawa, Japan, June 23, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
Japanese visitors pray at the Cornerstone of Peace at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman, Okinawa, Japan, June 23, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
As she began her speech, about a dozen protesters spread throughout the venue began shouting “No war!” and “Don’t change the constitution!” in Japanese. About five were eventually removed.
Takaichi has pledged, most recently at the Liberal Democratic Party convention in April, to begin the process of revising Japan’s pacifist constitution.
Air Force Brig. Gen. John Gallemore, commander of the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base, led roughly 50 service members in a separate ceremony earlier that day in front of the American section of the memorial.
He urged the troops present to remember not just the sacrifices of the combatants, but “the civilian populations that are often innocent, who are caught in the crossfire between two military organizations, who sometimes suffer the most.”
“As we continue to make massive strides here in the Pacific region, where the United States and Japan’s alliance is stronger than ever — it’s one of the strongest alliances that we have in the world,” he said. “Reflect upon our past but look to the future as we continue to work together.”
