{"id":306828,"date":"2019-08-28T06:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T20:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=306828"},"modified":"2019-08-28T06:00:39","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T20:00:39","slug":"mra-holds-final-okinawa-peace-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/mra-holds-final-okinawa-peace-memorial\/","title":{"rendered":"MRA holds final Okinawa peace memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-306828 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/mra-holds-final-okinawa-peace-memorial\/okinawa-peace-photo\/'>Okinawa Peace photo<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-306829'>\n\t\t\t\tOkinawa Gov. Yasuhiro Tamaki prays at the incense offering during the 50th Okinawa Peace Memorial at the Okinawa Peace Tower in Marpi. (Iva Maurin)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/mra-holds-final-okinawa-peace-memorial\/peace-memorial-photo-2\/'>Peace Memorial photo 2<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-306830'>\n\t\t\t\tThe rain fails to dampen the spirits of the 140 Okinawans who honored departed World War II casualties at the 50th Okinawa Peace Memorial at the Okinawa Peace Tower in Marpi. (Iva Maurin)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Members of the Micronesia Repatriation Association capped their yearly pilgrimage to the CNMI yesterday with the 50th Okinawa Peace Memorial at the Okinawa Peace Tower in Marpi, which was graced by the presence of Okinawa Gov. Yasuhiro Tamaki himself.<\/p>\n<p>That means yesterday\u2019s event will be the last pilgrimage of the MRA to the CNMI.<\/p>\n<p>In his speech at the memorial, Tamaki expressed gratefulness to the CNMI for the many years that the Commonwealth has supported the memorial service.<\/p>\n<p> \u201cWe Okinawans have renewed our determination to pass to the next generation the lessons we gained from the bitter experiences during the past world war. We also want to work toward the building of a peaceful society in which the dignity of all people, regardless of nationality and race, will be respected, with no one left behind,\u201d Tamaki said. <\/p>\n<p>He also wished for the everlasting prosperity of the Commonwealth.<\/p>\n<p>The MRA has been holding the annual pilgrimage to the island for 50 years now, through Pacific Development Inc., to ensure that the people of Okinawa and the people of the Marianas continue to maintain the relationship between them. Many of the Japanese people who lived in the CNMI before World War II trace their ancestry to Okinawa.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, who attended the memorial ceremony, extended his appreciation to MRA and all Okinawans for what they have done throughout the years to honor departed loved ones, and for the Okinawa Peace Tower in Marpi itself that allows the people of both countries to foster a relationship that has lasted more than 50 years.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am also personally thankful to Gov. Tamaki that he was able to come\u2026[which is] a great honor for us to have [him] here. Although this is their last year, we hope that the young generation would appreciate the history that we have between two countries, our island Saipan and the CNMI,\u201d Torres said. <\/p>\n<p>Torres also confirmed that arrangements to create sister-city ties between Saipan and Okinawa are in the works. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have so much cultural relation with Okinawa. A lot of our fishermen and our farmers back then came from Okinawa. This relationship is something that we want to continue and hope that soon, we can have a learning workforce between Okinawa and Saipan,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>For this year\u2019s celebration, MRA invited all the local families who started the event with the Okinawans, said PDI managing director Gordon I. Marciano.<\/p>\n<p>With this year\u2019s ceremony being the last leg for the original Okinawans, there is a plan to establish a new chapter, to establish what was done years back in terms of cultural exchange. <\/p>\n<p>The group is going to Tinian today to meet with the Mayor Edwin Aldan, to share the dream of establishing the sister-city program. The group will also visit the Marianas Visitors Authority, meet with Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang on Thursday, then with the Japan Council of the CNMI. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Members of the Micronesia Repatriation Association capped their yearly pilgrimage to the CNMI yesterday with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":306829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4883],"class_list":["post-306828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-mra"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}