Japan and US call for stronger ties on Iwo Jima anniversary

TOKYO – Japan and the US called for a strengthening of their alliance on March 29 as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and new US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth attended a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The tiny island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean lies around 1,250km from Tokyo and was the scene of five weeks of brutal combat between Japanese and US forces in World War II.

“I’d like to pay my respects to the souls of those who fought for our country on Iwo Jima and renew our pledge to peace,” Mr Ishiba said at the joint Japan-US memorial service on the island.

“I’d also like to reiterate our determination to keep the preciousness of peace in our hearts and to raise the US-Japan alliance, which brings peace and prosperity to the world, to new heights.”

Nearly all of Japan’s 21,000 soldiers were killed, fighting inside a network of tunnels, on Iwo Jima while the US side saw more than 6,800 fatalities, and 19,000 wounded.

“The US-Japan alliance shows those brave men of 1945 how yesterday’s enemy has become today’s friend.

“Our alliance has been and remains the cornerstone of freedom, prosperity, security, and peace in the Indo-Pacific, and it will continue,” Mr Hegseth said.

An image of US marines raising the stars and stripes on the island became one of the most famous photos of World War II, and the battle has inspired numerous books and movies.

Efforts to find the remains of the war dead continue on the remote volcanic island, which is now off limits to civilians and known in Japan as Iwo-To.

The ceremony was about “confirming post-war reconciliation between Japan and the United States and praying for further friendship through joint memorial and tribute activities for