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forced to commit suicide in the closing days of World War II, police have said.
The boys, between the ages of 16 and 19, have said that they destroyed two *signboards and
origami paper cranes left by visitors to the Chibichirigama cave between Sept. 5 and last Tuesday,
police said Friday.
着
During the *Battle of Okinawa, which started on April 1, 1945, with the landing of the U.S.
*army on the island, more than 80 Okinawa people were believed to commit suicide in the cave
after taking *refuge there.
Similar cases of suicide took place at other places during the battle.
Family members of those people who killed themselves at the site during the war discovered
the damage last Tuesday and reported it to police.
Norio Yonaha, 63, who lost five members of his family in the suicide, told reporters that this
was “an *insult to the people who died" there.
Bottles and vases left behind by the dead people were also damaged.
About 100,000 people, or almost a quarter of the local people, died in the three-month ground
battle in Okinawa between the Japanese army and the U.S. army. In total, more than 200,000
(life) were lost, *including those of Americans.
(2017, September 16). Japan Times
Can you see “Chibichirigama” in the news report? “Gama” means “cave” in Okinawa.
We can see natural gama here and there in Okinawa. Himeyurinotou is built on top of one of
these gama. During World War II, gama were used as *trenches by the Japanese army and
as places of refuge by Okinawa people.
[ 7 ] because they had nothing to eat and no medicine for *wounds and sickness.
Many were killed by the U.S. army who burned people to death.
[
] because they spoke Okinawa words. Some babies were also killed because they
(cry). Many had to commit suicide because the Japanese army ordered then
didn't stop
to do so.
[], but not always. In fact, there were lots of people who died in gama. Gama te
us how terrible war is.
NAZ
