on Banzai Cliff where hundreds of Japanese civilians and soldiers leapt to their deaths during World War II.
The memorial depicts hands in prayer with the five fingers representing “virtue, righteousness, courtesy, knowledge and trust.”
Aya Matsumoto, vice president of Pacific Eagle who also emceed the ceremony, said the visiting Japanese came from Tokyo, Narita, Osaka, and Nagoya.
She said the Nenpo Shinkyou, a Buddhist faith-based organization founded in Osaka in 1925, chose Saipan to host its first memorial outside of Japan because a lot of people died here during the war.
The Northern Marianas was a Japanese possession from 1914 to 1944.
Nenpo Shinkyou has 87 temples all over Japan and has 800,000 members.
Ryoyu Okeya, president of the Nenpo Shinkyou Buddhist Denomination, said the memorial symbolizes their hope for eternal world peace and goodwill to mankind.
“We pray daily that this world can be rid of war, poverty, illness and misery and that everybody can attain peace by overcoming boundaries of religion, philosophy, nationalities and ethnicities,” Okeya said in his message to the congregation read by a member.
“The fact that we were able to erect a memorial with those prayers here on Banzai Cliff makes us realize the importance of the mission of our faith and the responsibility of each of us who are followers of this faith,” he added.
Acting Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez, Japanese Consul Tsutomu Higuchi, Marianas Visitors Authority Executive Director Perry Tenorio, Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela, Noguchi of JTB Western Japan Corp. and other dignitaries also attended the event.
Villagomez said the CNMI community joins the members of the Nenpo Shinkyou in praying for world peace.
He said “healing is possible —the path to the future is one of peace and harmony.”
Tenorio, for his part, said the local community is grateful for the presence of the Nenpo Shinkyou’s memorial on Saipan.
