Okinawa marks 57th anniversary of World War II island battle

TOKYO -- Okinawans observed a minute of silence Sunday to remember soldiers killed in a World War II battle between American and Japanese forces on the southern Japanese island 57 years ago.

At a ceremony honoring the war dead, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he would work to boost Okinawa's flagging economy and ease the "burden" of hosting thousands of U.S. troops.

"The U.S. military in Okinawa has greatly contributed to peace and stability in Japan and the entire Asia-Pacific region, but it has also put a great burden on the people of this prefecture," Koizumi told an audience of about 7,000 in a brief address aired by public broadcaster NHK.

"I plan to sincerely try to lighten that burden," he said.

Okinawa is home to more than half the 47,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan and is the nation's poorest region. It was the site of the final land battle between U.S. and Japanese troops in the closing months of the war in 1945. A quarter of a million people died, including at least 12,500 Americans and about one-third of the 450,000 civilians on the island.

Several crimes and embarrassing remarks by U.S. troops and officers stationed here last year stoked resentment, prompting Koizumi to consider measures to reduce the number of U.S. forces and move an airport and training exercises to other locations.

The few protesters at Sunday's ceremony, however, were more concerned about Koizumi's recent push for legislation that would broaden the role of Japan's military, which is strictly limited by the country's postwar constitution.