The Kiribati Minister of Tourism, Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives, Honourable Booti Nauan hosted the 79th WWll anniversary commemoration and the reopening of the Japan and Korea monuments at Tabon Takoronga, Betio Tuesday 29 November, 2022.
Present at the event was His Excellency Kawakami Fumihiro, Ambassador of Japan to Kiribati and Excellency Park Young-kyu, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Kiribati.
Set against the backdrop of the re-built Japan and Korea WWll memorial monument, the event began with a welcome from the traditional landowners the Unimwane ao Unaine Betio followed by a commemoration memorial service led by Reverend Tioti Timon from the Kiribati Uniting Church.
In his address, Hon Nauan shared that “while the Battle of Tarawa will long be remembered as the bloodiest battle in the Pacific campaign of WWll, it important to acknowledge that each of the more than 5,000 lives lost, whether they were Americans, Japanese or Koreans, were sons, fathers, brothers, uncles who were loved by their families and that their memory must always be honoured”.
The Ambassadors of Japan and Korea both expressed their sincerest gratitude to the Government and the people of Kiribati for the initiative to remember their fallen countrymen.
The event was also attended by the High Commissioner of Australia to Kiribati, His Excellency David Yardley, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Kiribati His Excellency Tang Songgen, the Mayor of Betio, local church leaders and community elders.
