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What happened to Lieutenant General Ushijima Mitsuru after the defeat of Japanese forces on Okinawa?
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Battle of Okinawa
U.S. Marines battling for control of a ridge near Naha, Okinawa, May 1945.
Following the defeat of Japanese forces on Okinawa, Lieutenant General Ushijima Mitsuru committed ritual suicide, known as seppuku, on June 22, 1945. He chose to take his own life rather than surrender to American forces, an act he performed alongside his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Cho Isamu.1