Tokyo Cancels Memorial For 1945 Air Raid Victims
The Tokyo metropolitan government says next week's memorial ceremony for the victims of US air raids in World War Two has been canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak.
This is the first time the annual ceremony has been canceled since it started in 1991. About 100,000 people were killed in the predawn attack by US B-29 bombers on March 10, 1945.
The event to mark the 75th anniversary of the air raids had been scheduled to take place next Tuesday afternoon. About 600 people, including survivors and relatives of the victims, were expected to attend.
The Tokyo government had initially planned to significantly scale down the event. But officials say they decided to cancel the ceremony because the number of coronavirus infections continues to increase.
