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「ちむかながな祭」主催者の物部彩花氏のピースウォッシュな発言は許せません！

7月5日に沖縄県糸満市の平和祈念公園で開催予定の「ちむかながな祭」の開催中止を求めます！

私達は、同イベントのPR動画などで主催者が行なった「沖縄の住民が日本を守ってくれたから今私たちがここにいられる」、その事実は「喜び」であり、平和の礎に刻まれた戦没者達は「尊い犠牲」だという発言や、日本兵は市民を守ってくれた感謝すべき存在と位置付ける、浅はかな歴史認識に憤りを感じて集まった市民有志です。

冒頭のYouTube動画での「ちむかながな祭」主催者の物部彩花氏の発言はピースウォッシュであり、許容できません。

私たちは以下の点を要求します。

沖縄県に対して：沖縄県がまとめた『沖縄県史 各論編６ 沖縄戦』によると、沖縄戦の教訓は「軍隊は住民を守らない」です。この教訓のもと平和行政を推進する県が、当イベントに施設を提供し、後援することに反対します。

自治体や企業団体等に対して：当イベントの協賛撤回を求めます。

「平和」や「祈り」等の言葉を使用して戦争責任や加害の歴史をあたかもなかったことにする行為を、最近はピース（平和）ウォッシュと世界では呼びます。「軍隊は住民を守らない」が沖縄戦の教訓とされるなか、日本軍によって殺された県民の犠牲までも「尊い犠牲」の一言にまとめ、美化する発言は看過できません。

これらの理由から「ちむかながな祭」の開催に反対です。一緒に声を上げ、開催中止を求めましょう！

We will not tolerate the peace-washing remarks made by Ayaka Mononobe, singer/organizer of the Chimu Kanagana Festival!

 
We demand the cancellation of the Chimu Kanagana Festival, scheduled to be held on July 5th, 2025 at the Peace Memorial Park* in Itoman City, Okinawa Prefecture. 
*The Peace Memorial Park is located on Mabuni Hill, the final, most intense battle ground of the Battle of Okinawa, where thousands of lives of soldiers and civilians were claimed. The Park has many monuments including the "Cornerstone of Peace", a collection of large stone plates with the names of 242,567 fallen soldiers and civilians, regardless of their nationalities and positions (Japanese/Allies) during the war. 

 
We are a group of concerned local community members who have gathered out of anger and disgust toward the organizer's erasure of the problematic parts of the history of the Battle of Okinawa*, as evidenced by her statements such as, “The people of Okinawa and the soldiers died to protect mainland Japan,” and this is the reason why Japanese people enjoy peace now, which is a “joy”.  

*Battle of Okinawa, (April 1–June 21, 1945), World War II battle fought between U.S. and Japanese forces on Okinawa, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands. […] Dubbed “the Typhoon of Steel” for its ferocity, the battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific War, claiming the lives of more than 12,000 Americans and 100,000 Japanese, including the commanding generals on both sides. In addition, at least 100,000 civilians were either killed in combat or were ordered to commit suicide by the Japanese military. Source: Britannica.com (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Okinawa
 
She also says that Japanese soldiers deserve gratitude for protecting civilians, a statement that glosses over the war crimes committed by the Japanese military against the civilians as documented in many studies and the survivors’ testimonies.
 
Such remarks made by Ayaka Mononobe, the organizer of the “Chimu Kanagana Festival,” in the promotional YouTube video above are a form of peace-washing and utterly unacceptable.

 
We demand the following:

 
To Okinawa Prefecture: According to Okinawa Prefecture's compilation, “Okinawa Prefectural History: Volume 6, The Battle of Okinawa” the lesson of the Battle of Okinawa is that “the military does not protect civilians.” We oppose the prefecture, which promotes peace administration based on this lesson, in providing facilities and sponsorship to this event.

 
To local governments and corporate organizations: We demand the withdrawal of all sponsorships for this event.

 
The act of using words like ‘peace’ and ‘prayer’ to make it seem as though the accountability and history of war crimes never existed is referred to as “peace-washing”; a concept recently starting to be used in Japan. While the lesson of the Battle of Okinawa is that “the military does not protect civilians,” statements like the above that erase the deaths of Okinawan residents killed by the Imperial Japanese soldiers and gloss them over as “noble sacrifices” is utterly unacceptable.

 
For these reasons, we oppose the “Chimukanagana Festival.” Let us raise our voices together and demand its cancellation!