June 23rd is Irei no Hi (Day to console the souls of those who died in the Battle of Okinawa). The annual commemoration is officially observed by Okinawa prefectural faciltiies, but not the Japanese national ones.
Although less than 3 months in duration, nearly a third of Okinawa island’s population lost their lives either directly in combat or through starvation and/or illness, primarily malaria.” The casualties could have been even worse, had it not been for the MIS and Okinawan heritage speakers, as seen in Gina Hamamoto’s short video:
