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Network Japan holds WWII memorial service
A visiting Japanese entertainment group, the Consular Office of Japan, and the Saipan Mayor’s Office recalled the sacrifices and lessons of World War II in a peace memorial yesterday morning at Last Command Post in Marpi.
Led by president and CNMI tourism ambassador Chiaki Nagumo, this was Network Japan’s eighth memorial service on Saipan.
Visiting Network Japan members, Japanese Consul Hitochi Kikushi, and Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang, along with other government officials, pose for a photo after a memorial service yesterday morning at the Last Command Post in Marpi. (Dennis B. Chan)
In his remarks, Apatang recalled the “great lessons” learned from World War II. “Sometimes those lessons are rooted in goodwill and some in conflict, he said, remembering the lives ended and destroyed by the war.
Often, people may want to erase those painful memories, he said. But it is important to visit the lessons of the past to reaffirm a commitment to a peaceful future.
“We need to keep the lessons valid in this special place in which we are gathered today,” he said, so that the “lesson will not be repeated.”
Consul Kikuchi said the peace and stability Japan now enjoys was built on the sacrifices of the war. These sacrifices should never be forgotten, he said.
“Seventy years have passed since the war. Time is flying so fast the memory of the war is getting dimmer and dimmer, year after year,” but these memories should be handed to the next generation, he said.
“So that we may prevent our society from being plunged once again into the ravages of war,” the consul said, expressing also his profound gratitude to Nogumo and Network Japan for these memorial services.
He said he hopes these memorial services will continue.
The event, which started at 9am, finished around 10am. Led by high priest Shudo Okuno, the ceremony featured meditative prayers, laying of flowers and pouring of water on the Japan peace memorial.
Around 40 people joined yesterday’s event. Also in tow were famous Japanese singers and entertainer Sachiko Kobayashi, Goro Noguchi, and Tatsunori Fuse, respectively.
