Japan commemorates WWII surrender as politics, weather and markets dominate headlines

On Saturday, Japan marked the 81st anniversary of its World War II surrender with a government-organized memorial in Tokyo that gathered roughly 4,300 people, among them Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and 3,700 relatives of the war dead. The ceremony honored the estimated 2.3 million military personnel and 800,000 civilians who perished. In related actions, Prime Minister Takaichi sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni shrine, and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited the shrine himself, despite its diplomatic sensitivities.

Heavy rain across eastern Japan, especially in Chiba Prefecture, resulted in at least eight deaths, road flooding and traffic jams, prompting Level 5 downpour warnings. The Japan Meteorological Agency also raised Mt. Aso’s volcanic alert to level 3 after detecting stronger tremors and a surge in gas emissions. Financial markets responded positively, with the Topix index closing at a record high for the third consecutive day, while a city in Aichi Prefecture reported that about 5 percent of residents aware of a two-hour screen-time rule had cut back usage.