Japan observed the 80th anniversary of its surrender in World War II on August 15.

A total of 3,358 bereaved relatives of the country's war dead took part in this year's national memorial ceremony.

For the first time, more than half were of generations that have not experienced the war.

At noon, participants observed a minute of silence to pray for about 3.1 million Japanese who are estimated to have died.

S/ Emperor Naruhito / I sincerely hope that we will continue to pass down the hardships of the wartime and postwar periods, unite our hearts and aspire for peace and happiness of all people in the future. With thoughts toward the many years of peace following the war, I reflect on the past and stand on deep remorse as I earnestly hope that the devastation of war will never again be repeated. Along with the entire nation, I extend my heartfelt condolences to those who perished on the battlefield and fell to the ravages of war, and I pray for world peace and for further development of our country.

The emperor's speech at this event has been similar since his enthronement in 2019, but this year he referred to passing down wartime and postwar hardships for the first time.

On the occasion of 80 years since the end of the war, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have visited Iwoto island, formerly known as Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima.

They have also spoken with young people engaging in storytelling and emphasized the importance of handing down memories of the past to younger generations.

S/ Ishiba Shigeru, Prime Minister / Eighty years have passed since the war. Generations that do not know war currently make up the majority. We must not repeat the devastation of war. We must never take the wrong path again. We must once again deeply etch into our hearts the remorse and lessons learned from that war.

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru made these remarks at the same government-organized ceremony at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

This was the first time in 13 years for a Japanese prime minister to mention "remorse" in his address at the annual event.

The term was previously used in 2012 by then Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko of the Democratic Party of Japan.

Ishiba also pledged to pursue actions toward lasting peace by carrying forward across generations the painful memories of war and resolute vow to never wage war again in the years and months to come.

He also expressed willingness to carve out a better future for current and future generations.