National Memorial Service for War Dead
The is an official, secular ceremony conducted annually on August 15, by the Japanese government at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan. The ceremony is held to commemorate the victims of World War II. The first memorial ceremony was held on May 2, 1952. Shūsen-kinenbi. or Haisen-kinennbi (Japanese: 敗戦記念日, "surrender memorial day") also written as or haisen-no-hi (Japanese: 敗戦の日) is an informal reference used by the public, for August 15 and related to the historical events that culminated with the "ending" of World War II, and the restoration of Japanese  political independence. Those events were: It is not an official holiday under Japanese law. Overview. By decision of the Japanese Cabinet, on May 2, 1952 the Emperor and Empress of Japan held a memorial service for war dead in Shinjuku Gyoen. The next such service was held on March 28, 1959. In 1963 the date was moved to August 15, the day the had aired in 1945. In the following year the service was held at Yasukuni Shrine, and in 1965 it was moved to the Budokan where it is still held today. In 1982 the Diet enacted a law  fixing the date of the ceremony at August 15. The service is meant to honor both Japanese military casualties and civilian victims of war, over 30 million deceased individuals in total. The event is organized by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. The Emperor and Empress are always in attendance, as well as representatives of business, labor, political, and religious organisations, and bereaved families. Roughly 6,000 attendees were recorded in 2007. The service is scheduled at 11:51am for one hour, and is broadcast by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. No invited leader has ever absented himself from the memorial, including  those who have criticized visits to Yasukuni Shrine. There has never been a protest from foreign powers about the memorial.