August 6, 2015 – Hiroshima marks 70 years since atomic bomb (BBC)
A ceremony, attended by PM Shinzo Abe, was held at Hiroshima’s memorial park before thousands of lanterns are released on the city’s Motoyasu river.
April 14, 2015 – “Taiwan says remembering end of WWII won’t hurt ties with Japan” (Today)
“President Ma Ying-jeou said yesterday that he does not think Taiwan’s plan to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II will undermine the island’s relationship with Japan.”
April 14, 2015 – “Veterans to attend Taiwan military parade marking 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat” (South China Morning Post)
“Taiwan said today that hundreds of veterans who participated in the bloody battles during the second Sino-Japanese War will be invited to the island’s first military parade marking the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in 1945. A total of 67…
April 13, 2015 – “President Park turns invitation to Russia down” (Korea JoongAng Daily)
“South Korean President Park Geun-hye is not expected to attend Russia’s World War II victory anniversary celebration next month, an event North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is scheduled to show up at. Instead, Park will dispatch a special envoy to Moscow,…
April 7 , 2015 – “Families of crewmen killed in Yamato sinking call for peace on 70th anniversary” (Asahi)
“I am concerned the history of the Yamato may have been romanticized despite 3,000 people dying on the battleship. We must never again go to war,” added Arahori, who traveled to the ceremony from Wakayama Prefecture.
April 5, 2015 – “92-year-old KMT veteran in Nanjing honored at last for past battles” (Want China Times)
“This Tomb Sweeping Day, Liu Shouben, a 92-year-old former Kuomintang soldier, can finally tell people about the bloody battles he fought against the Japanese… Liu joined the KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party, in the spring of 1942. He fought a…
April 5, 2015 – “Thousands Visit Trinity on Anniversary of Bomb Explosion” (ABC News)
“Thousands of visitors converged Saturday on the New Mexico site where the first nuclear bomb was detonated nearly 70 years ago.”
April 4, 2015 – “‘Comfort women’ the focus for Marymond” (Korea Joongang Daily)
“Making pressed-flower petal artwork is one technique used in psychological therapy for wartime victims like Shim. In 2011, when 29-year-old Yoon Hong-jo first saw these creations, he was immediately moved by their beauty.”
April 4, 2015 – “At Least 25 States to Take Part in WWII Victory Day Celebrations in Moscow” (Sputnik)
“Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov said that leaders of at least 25 states will attend the May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow that commemorates the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.”
April 3, 2015 – “Ex-Prime Minister Murayama to attend China’s WWII anniversary ceremony” (Japan Times)
“Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama said Friday he is planning to attend a ceremony China will hold in September to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. “If I receive a formal invitation, I intend to go,”…
Link: April 1, 2015 – “China pushing World War II anniversary events, but Western turnout could be low-key” (GMA Network)
“China is trying hard to get world leaders to attend events marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Beijing this year, including a military parade, but some diplomats said President Xi Jinping could be left…
March 30, 2015 – “No room for ‘snubbed’ Japanese war veteran at Iwo Jima memorial service” (The Guardian)
“One of only a handful of Japanese veterans who survived the battle of Iwo Jima – one of the bloodiest campaigns of the Pacific war – spent a recent memorial service on the island alongside US veterans after being told…
March 30, 2015 – “Okinawa: Remembering all the dead” (Maryland Reporter)
“In 1990, when Ota was first elected governor of Okinawa, he began pushing for a memorial to Okinawa’s war dead. “I decided that we inscribe the names forever, since that is the only proof that they existed in this world. All…
March 27, 2015 – “China’s Kinder, Gentler Military Parade” (The Diplomat)
“Rather than displaying China’s latest military technologies, as the National Day parades do, this parade will have a different focus: promoting an image of China’s military forces as peacekeepers. “The world will see the PLA as important force of promoting…
March 25, 2015 – “70 years later, the world is still fighting World War II” (Washington Post)
“2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, but, in some ways, the epochal conflict is far from over. A host of commemorations are opening up old wounds in parts of the world, or have become staging grounds for current…
March 25, 2015 – “Beijing invites Shinzo Abe to ceremonies for the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II” (Asia News)
“According to a Japanese government source, China has asked the Prime Minister of Japan to participate in events that mark Japan’s military defeat. The Japanese leaders “cautious in evaluating the request. ” Signs of detente between the countries following foreign…
March 17, 2015 – “Lavrov confirms N. Korean leadership attending May 9 celebrations in Moscow” (RT)
“The North Korean leadership will come to Moscow in May for the celebration of victory in World War II, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced. If Kim Jong-un pays a visit in person, this would be his first foreign…
March 13, 2015 – “Taiwan Rebuffs China’s Suggestion of Joint World War II Commemoration” (VoA)
“Taiwan has declined China’s pitch for joint participation in activities to mark the 70th anniversary of World War II’s final year.”
March 13, 2015 – “China eyes new venue for end-of-war parade” (Japan Times)
“China’s planned military parade to mark the end of World War II is likely to be held at the site Japan attacked in 1937 to trigger the Second Sino-Japanese War, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the plan. The…
March 11, 2015 – “China says wants Taiwan to participate in commemoration of end of World War II” (Strait Times)
“China wants Taiwan to participate in commemorations later this year to mark the end of World War II, and also plans events commemorating the end of Japanese rule over the island, a Chinese government spokesman said on Wednesday.”
March 11, 2015 – “Merkel Plans to Skip Moscow World War II Victory Day Parade” (WSJ)
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel will skip a Moscow military parade in May commemorating the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany but hold a separate ceremony at the Kremlin the next day, a balancing act showing the complexities of…
March 10, 2015 – “Japan marks 70th anniversary of Tokyo firebombing, Abe pledges peace ahead of key war statement” (Shanghai Daily)
“Japan on Tuesday marked the 70th anniversary of the U.S. firebombing of Tokyo during World War II in which a frenzied night raid saw 100,000 lives lost… Prime Minister Shinzo Abe… pledged in the ceremony to ‘contribute as much as possible…
March 5, 2015 – “Moscow condemns EU attempts to use Victory Day anniversary for attacks on Russia” (Focus News)
“Attempts to distort the truth about World War II are an insult to the memory of the victims of Nazism and millions of Soviet soldiers who died for the liberation of Europe, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told a…
March 3, 2015 – “China to hold parade, invite leaders to mark end of World War Two” (Reuters)
“China will hold a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two this year and invite the leaders of major countries involved in the war to attend, the foreign ministry said, events probably aimed at…