Pearl Harbor

Shinzo Abe to be first Japanese PM to visit Pearl Harbor

Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the base in 1941, killing 2,300 US servicemen and propelling the US into World War Two.

Mr Abe will visit on 27 December with US President Barack Obama.

The announcement, two days before the 75th anniversary of the attack, follows a visit by Mr Obama to Hiroshima.

He became the first US president to visit the Japanese city, where about 150,000 people are believed to have been killed in 1945 by a US atomic bomb.

US, Japanese cities mark WWII end with Pearl Harbor ceremony

Mayors and city council members from Honolulu and Nagaoka on Friday joined the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in laying wreaths at Pearl Harbor.

Fireworks resembling white chrysanthemum flowers were launched at the end of the ceremony. White chrysanthemums are often presented at memorial services in Japan to honor the dead.

Remains of Pearl Harbor victims dug up for identification

The coffins were dug up at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, where they have rested for decades. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in April it would disinter up to 388 Oklahoma servicemen to account for sailors and Marines still classified as missing.

The cemetery and the military allowed media to observe a ceremony afterward when flags were draped over the coffins.