On the 73rd anniversary of Japan¡¯s surrender in World War II on Wednesday, people across the nation remembered the country¡¯s past and expressed hopes that memories of the war will not be forgotten.

At the Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo, visitors spoke of their aspirations for a peaceful future, some criticizing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his calls to revise the pacific Constitution in order to acknowledge clearly the presence of Japan¡¯s Self-Defense Forces and enable them to conduct fully-fledged military operations.

¡°The anniversary of the end of the war is a good opportunity to stop and think about what happened in the past,¡± said Kazunori Adachi, a high school history teacher from Hyogo Prefecture who had traveled to Tokyo for the summer holidays.