TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi led a solemn ceremony Sunday to mark the 57th anniversary of a World War II ground battle on the island of Okinawa that claimed 238,000 lives.

"We must tell the history of the battle of Okinawa to future generations and we must not repeat the horrible war," Koizumi said to the more than 7,000 people gathered in a park in Itoman city, where the last of the brutal fights in Okinawa occurred.

Okinawa officials took the opportunity to urge the national government to quickly consolidate and reduce the U.S. military bases in the prefecture, which hosts about two-thirds of the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan.

A string of crimes committed by U.S. soldiers against local residents as well as disputes over the ownership and use of the land on which U.S. military facilities sit have made Okinawa residents reluctant hosts, told AFP.

"Okinawa's problems with (U.S. military) bases are significant issues that must be dealt with by the entire Japanese public," Okinawa's Governor, Keiichi Inamine, said.

Koizumi said in his speech he would do his best to meet the request -- just as he told Okinawa residents in the same ceremony a year ago.

"The U.S. military presence in Okinawa significantly contributes to the peace and stability of our nation as well as the rest of the Asia-Pacific region," Koizumi said.

"But it is true that the concentration of the facilities (in Okinawa) have heavily burdened you, the Okinawan residents.

"With help from those who are involved in this issue, I promise, I will continue to pay my utmost efforts toward lightening the burden of Okinawan residents." Okinawa, which was handed back to Japan in 1972 after 27 years of U.S. military rule following World War II, is strategically located within striking distance of China and the Korean peninsula.

The battle of Okinawa raged for more than 80 days at the end of the World War II. It was the most fierce conflict in the pacific and the only land battle fought in Japan during the war.

The U.S. death toll reached 14,000 with 36,000 injured while 75,000 from mainland Japan perished. Most of the other 238,000 people killed were civilians.

The tragedy ended on June 23, 1945, when lieutenant general Mitsuru Ushijima committed suicide by cutting open his stomach on a southern hill overlooking the pacific.

The memorial ceremony is held annually at the site of the suicide, now called Peace Memorial Park, with a minute's silence for the victims of the carnage.

Koji Omi, Minister in Charge of Okinawan affairs, Chikara Sakaguchi, Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, and high-ranking U.S. and Japanese military officials also attended the ceremony.