Register for E-mail alerts. Comment on articles. Sign up today, it's easy.
Close
The Washington Times Online Edition

Japan renames Iwo Jima as Iwo To

TOKYO — Japan has changed the name of the Pacific island of Iwo Jima, site of the famous World War II battle, to its original name of Iwo To after residents there were prodded into action by two recent Clint Eastwood movies.

The new name in Japanese looks and means the same as Iwo Jima — or Sulfur Island — but sounds different, according to the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute.

The institute announced the name change Monday after discussing the issue with Japan’s coast guard. An official map with the new name will be released Sept. 1.

Iwo Jima was the site of the World War II battle immortalized by the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on the islet’s Mount Suribachi.

Before the war, however, the volcanic island was known as Iwo To by the 1,000 or so civilians who lived there.

They were evacuated in 1944 as U.S. forces advanced across the Pacific. Some Japanese navy officers who moved in to fortify the island mistakenly called it Iwo Jima, and the name stuck. After the war, civilians weren’t allowed to return and the island was put to exclusive military use by both the U.S. and Japan, cementing its identity.

Never satisfied that the name Iwo Jima took root, locals took action in March after the release of Mr. Eastwood’s two films “Letters From Iwo Jima” and “Flags of Our Fathers,” spotlighted the misnomer.

“Though we’re happy for Iwo To, which has been forgotten by history, the islanders are extremely grieved every time they hear Iwo To referred to as Iwo Jima,” the local Ogasawara newspaper reported at the time.

Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus
You Might Also Like
  • Delegate Robert G. Marshall holds a book as he reads to the House during debate on a bill defining life at the moment of conception during the House session at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Monday, Feb. 13, 2012.  (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

    Virginia House vote states life starts at conception

    By David Sherfinski - The Washington Times

  • A bomb specialist examines debris Tuesday in Bangkok where two explosions rocked a neighborhood. An Iranian man injured by a grenade he was carrying also was linked to a blast that ripped part of a roof off a house. (Associated Press)

    U.S. concerned about spike in Iran-Israel ‘shadow war’

    By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times

  • Mabus

    Naming of Navy ships returns to tradition

    By Rowan Scarborough - The Washington Times

  • In Case You Missed It
    Happening Now

          Independent voices from the TWT Communities

          Riffs

          Find up-to-date information on the D.C. and Baltimore live music scenes and read interviews with artists and reviews of the latest releases and concerts.

          The Tygrrrr Express

          A politically conservative and morally liberal Hebrew alpha male hunts left-wing vipers.