The 70th anniversary of the Battle of Saipan was marked Sunday by a ceremony that drew around 400 participants, including former Japanese and U.S. soldiers.
Hitoshi Kikuchi, head of the Consulate General of Japan on Saipan, part of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth, was among those in attendance to mark the major battle, which claimed the lives of about 30,000 Japanese and 3,300 Americans.
The Battle of Saipan began on June 15, 1944, when the United States landed military forces on the island, which was being settled by Japan under a mandate from the League of Nations.