Japanese citizens call for remembrance of WWII aggression at Tokyo peace exhibition

A peace-themed exhibition was held in Tokyo's Chuo ward on Saturday, displaying historical accounts of Japan's aggression and atrocities during World War II and calling on Japanese society to face up to the country's wartime history.

The exhibition featured testimonies from former members of the country's notorious wartime Unit 731, information on Japan's use of chemical weapons during the war, and accounts of Japan's wartime atrocities presented through recitations, songs and other forms.

"We must never forget this history. I am already quite old myself. In order to pass this history on to the next generation, to tell them what Japan actually did during the war and about the crimes committed by Japan as the aggressor and perpetrator, I began conducting activities related to this about 25 years ago, and have since focused on passing this history on to the next generation," said the organizer of the exhibition Kazuo Fukuda.

Japanese participants at the expo criticized the government's attempts to revise the three non-nuclear principles, promote military expansion and Constitution revision.

"I didn't know much about these before. Today I saw a lot of information. Although the venue isn't large, it contains so much information. It was really painful to see all this. I hope [the Japanese government] won't so easily get involved in wars, including seeking to possess [nuclear] weapons. In the end, that will only bring suffering to the people. I have only one thing to say: I hope this will never happen again," a visitor said.

"We were all born after the war, so the generation that experienced and knew about that war is gradually diminishing. Under these circumstances, as Japanese people, we should seriously examine the crimes Japan committed as the aggressor," another participant said.

They also voiced clear opposition to visits by some Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday.

"It's absolutely outrageous. Yasukuni Shrine is not a shrine at all. The so-called 'war spirits' were people who launched wars on their own initiative, and then they are 'enshrined' there. What does it mean to 'enshrine' them? When I think about these things, I can only feel angry. I believe Yasukuni Shrine should not exist at all," said a local resident after visiting the expo.

Japanese citizens call for remembrance of WWII aggression at Tokyo peace exhibition

Japanese citizens call for remembrance of WWII aggression at Tokyo peace exhibition

Japanese citizens call for remembrance of WWII aggression at Tokyo peace exhibition

Repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks have halted commercial and maritime activity at Yemen's Mocha Port near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, killing seven people and causing about 16 million U.S. dollars worth of direct losses, government and port officials said on Saturday.

The port, in southwestern Yemen's Taiz province, is a key entry point for commercial goods and supplies bound for government-held areas.

Abdulmalik al-Sharabi, director of the government-held port, said the attacks over the past week killed four members of the port's security forces and three port employees, while causing extensive damage to facilities and equipment.

"Some of the port's berths were damaged, along with warehouses and the port's own maintenance workshops. Every economic facility in the port complex was targeted in the attack," al-Sharabi said.

He said six wooden vessels and a dredger involved in the port's expansion operation were also damaged. The suspension of shipping and commercial activity has left about 1,300 workers without an income.

"The attack on Mocha Port caused enormous losses for merchants. There were also casualties among port personnel and workers, including dockworkers, and commercial vessels moored at the port with cargo being loaded also sustained damage," said Mohammed al-Ghanami, head of the Mocha Merchants' Union.

Yemen's pro-government National Resistance Forces said the Houthis launched 40 ballistic missiles and 46 drones, and used explosive-laden boats in the attacks against Mocha, its port and other sites in the area between Aug 9 and Aug 14.

The Houthis have said their operations in the Mocha area targeted military buildups and weapons depots of what they called Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. Government authorities refuted that account, describing the port as a civilian commercial facility.

The escalation has raised concern that Yemen could slide back into full-scale fighting. A U.N.-brokered truce expired in October 2022, but a fragile de facto ceasefire had largely held until the recent attacks.

Houthi strikes halt operation of Yemen's Mocha Port, kill seven