Tokyo Was Filled With Charred Corpses After US Firebombing 80 Years Ago, Survivors Want Compensation

More than 1,000,000 people were killed in a single night 80 years ago Monday in the American firebombing of Tokyo, the Japanese capital.

- AGENCIES

The attack, made with conventional bombs, destroyed downtown Tokyo and filled the streets with heaps of charred bodies.

The damage was comparable to the atomic bombings a few months later in August 1945, but unlike those attacks, the Japanese government has not provided aid to victims and the events of that day have largely been ignored or forgotten.

Elderly survivors are making a last-ditch effort to tell their stories and push for financial assistance and recognition. Some are speaking out for the first time, trying to tell a younger generation about their lessons.

Shizuyo Takeuchi, 94, says her mission is to keep telling the history she witnessed at 14, speaking out on behalf of those who died.

On the night of 10 March, 1945, hundreds of B-29s raided Tokyo, dumping cluster bombs with napalm specially designed with sticky oil to destroy traditional Japanese-style wood and paper homes in the crowded "shitamachi" downtown neighborhoods.