Japan, U.S. Mark 70th Year since Battle of Iwojima
Japan and the United States held a ceremony Saturday to mark the 70th year since the bloody Battle of Iwojima near the end of World War II.
Japan sent two cabinet ministers to the annual ceremony for the first time: Welfare Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.
Nakatani held talks with U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on the sidelines of the event, according to Kyodo News.
In one of the fiercest battles fought in the Pacific during WWII, some 22,000 Japanese and 6,800 U.S. soldiers died in just 35 days in 1945 as U.S. Marines captured the island, officially called "Iwo-to" island, 1,250 kilometers (780 miles) south of Tokyo.
A picture of U.S. troops raising the Stars and Stripes on the island's highest point, Mount Suribachi, became a symbol of U.S. victory in the war.
Veterans and relatives of those who died in the battle spoke at the ceremony, highlighting the unity of the two nations, Kyodo said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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