Tag: World War II

A-bomb survivors to attend Obama’s Hiroshima memorial

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Survivors of the American nuclear bombing of Hiroshima will be present when US President Barack Obama lays a wreath at ground zero this week, reports said Wednesday. Former United States prisoners of war captured by the Japanese will also attend the event, the Yomiuri Shimbun said, with US officials hoping their presence will remove any impression it is an apology. Obama will offer a floral tribute and make comments in front […]

Aquino highlights importance of maintaining peace during commemoration of the 74th ‘Araw Ng Kagitingan’

  (PILAR, Bataan) President Aquino highlighted the importance of maintaining regional peace during the 74th commemoration of Araw Ng Kagitingan here noting that a conflict in one country affects global stability. In his speech during the event, the President said World War II caused so much devastation and misery in the Philippines and other countries affected by it. “Napakalaki nga po ng pinsalang hatid ng Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig, na nangyari wala pang isang henerasyon ang […]

European refugee crisis a ‘global’ challenge: Kerry

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States regards the exodus of Middle Eastern refugees to Europe as a “global challenge,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday, reassuring his German counterpart of US support. “It is not somebody else’s problem. It is a test for all of us,” Kerry declared, at a Washington news conference with Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “The United States considers the refugee crisis to be global. The impact first was […]

Japan Emperor marks 70th anniversary of end of WW2

(Reuters) — Japanese Emperor Akihito on Saturday (August 15) marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two with an expression of “deep remorse” over the conflict, a departure from his annual script which could be seen as a subtle rebuke of conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe on Friday (August 14) expressed “utmost grief” for the suffering Japan inflicted in the war, but said future generations should not have to keep apologising […]

Japanese nationalists march on war shrine to mark WW2 anniversary

  (Reuters) — Hundreds of Japanese nationalists marched to Yasukuni shrine on Saturday (August 15), where leaders convicted as war criminals by Allied Tribunal are honored with war dead, to mark the 70th anniversary since the end of World War Two. The majority of participants from the nationalist group “Ganbare Nippon” carried Japanese flags and shouted “Banzai” at the gates of the shrine, after having quietly marching through the streets. The shrine has been a […]

Hiroshima survivors: haunted 70 years on but determined to pass on their memories

(Reuters) — Almost seventy years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the ageing survivors of the world’s first nuclear attack on a civilian population are starting to worry about the legacy they are leaving behind. Seventy-five-year-old Hiroshi Harada still remembers how his leg sank into one of the bodies blocking a narrow Hiroshima street 70 years ago as he fled the spreading fire ignited by the atomic bombing. Later that day, a girl grabbed Harada, […]

Japan’s 2015 foreign policy report expresses deep remorse over World War II

Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday (April 7) Japan had added references in its annual foreign policy Diplomatic Blue Book to “remorse” as the country reflected on the 70 years since World War II. According to the Kyodo news agency, a draft of the 2015 report says “Japan has continued its path as a pacifist nation for 70 years since the end of World War Two based on its ‘deep remorse’ over the […]

Sharing of Stories: Jewish Survivors in the Philippines during the Holocaust

The alumni members of the American School in Manila had organized a reunion that not only promised the rekindling of memories but a remembrance of the plight of the Jews who faced annihilation during the Holocaust. The event, “Sharing of Stories”, was organized by the Pilipinas Sandiwa Heritage Foundation and the Embassy of Israel and highlighted the major role that the Philippines had played in Jewish history when President Manuel L. Quezon welcomed the Jewish refugees […]

Japan apologizes to Filipinos for acts of violence done during World War II

MANILA (PNA) — Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Toshinao Urabe on Wednesday expressed apologies to Filipinos for acts of violence done during World War II (WW2). During a speech he delivered during the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) rites at the Mt. Samat shrine in Pilar, Bataan, Urabe said that although 72 years have passed since WW2 it still hurts to remember the pain suffered by many. “I wish to express our heartfelt apologies […]