Yotsu Iimura, 94, takes part in the national memorial service at Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Friday.
Photo courtesy: The Yomiuri Shimbun
"My heart is too full to talk. I'm really happy," she said, entering Tokyo Budokan Hall.
This year, 4,579 surviving kin of deceased Japanese soldiers attended the Budokan ceremony. A decade ago, the number was 5,662.
Iimura had hesitated to attend because "many bereaved families had been attending the ceremony," she said.
"But not much time is left for me, either. I feel lonely since fewer families are attending," she said.
Iimura's husband, Shoji, was killed in action on Luzon Island in the Philippines at age 31. He had been a refrigerator maker before being drafted in 1944. Iimura learned in 1947 that her husband was dead.
(C) The Japan Times
August 16, 2008
JAPAN: 94-year old war widow goes to first ceremony
TOKYO (The Japan Times - Kyodo), August 16, 2008:
Over the past 63 years, Yotsu Iimura had not joined the annual national memorial ceremony on August 15 to commemorate the war dead.
But this year, the 94-year-old decided to come although she is in a wheelchair, becoming one of the oldest relatives of the war dead attending the ceremony, which is seeing fewer and fewer participants as the survivors pass away with the years.
Yotsu Iimura, 94, takes part in the national memorial service at Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Friday.
Photo courtesy: The Yomiuri Shimbun
"My heart is too full to talk. I'm really happy," she said, entering Tokyo Budokan Hall.
This year, 4,579 surviving kin of deceased Japanese soldiers attended the Budokan ceremony. A decade ago, the number was 5,662.
Iimura had hesitated to attend because "many bereaved families had been attending the ceremony," she said.
"But not much time is left for me, either. I feel lonely since fewer families are attending," she said.
Iimura's husband, Shoji, was killed in action on Luzon Island in the Philippines at age 31. He had been a refrigerator maker before being drafted in 1944. Iimura learned in 1947 that her husband was dead.
(C) The Japan Times
Yotsu Iimura, 94, takes part in the national memorial service at Nippon Budokan in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Friday.
Photo courtesy: The Yomiuri Shimbun
"My heart is too full to talk. I'm really happy," she said, entering Tokyo Budokan Hall.
This year, 4,579 surviving kin of deceased Japanese soldiers attended the Budokan ceremony. A decade ago, the number was 5,662.
Iimura had hesitated to attend because "many bereaved families had been attending the ceremony," she said.
"But not much time is left for me, either. I feel lonely since fewer families are attending," she said.
Iimura's husband, Shoji, was killed in action on Luzon Island in the Philippines at age 31. He had been a refrigerator maker before being drafted in 1944. Iimura learned in 1947 that her husband was dead.
(C) The Japan Times
