Following a 23-year U.S. occupation, Iwo Jima was returned to Japan in 1968 as part of the Ogasawara island group, but it is now home to only 380 service members of the Japan Maritime Self Defense ...

Following a 23-year U.S. occupation, Iwo Jima was returned to Japan in 1968 as part of the Ogasawara island group, but is now home to only 380 service members of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force.

Japan changed the name of the island of Iwo Jima, the site of a brutal World War II battle, to Iwo To in order to alter the island's image in the wake of Hollywood films about the battle.

In Japanese, that name looks and means the same as Iwo Jima — Sulfur Island — but it has a different sound. The civilians were evacuated in 1944 as U.S. forces advanced across the Pacific.

Most Americans and Japanese alive today were born after Japan surrendered in August 1945. Iwo Jima, now known officially as Ioto, is seen from an airplane in Japan, on March 21, 2015.

Clint Eastwood’s “Letters From Iwo Jima” won the battle of the Japanese holiday B.O., according to figures compiled by the Zakzak Web site. Pic had earned $30 million by Jan. 8 compared with ...

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako arrive at the island of Iwo Jima, now officially called Iwo To in Japan, Monday April 7, 2025. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool Photo via AP) Show Caption ...

Japanese Emperor Naruhito, left, and Empress Masako, center, are escorted by a member of Japan Self Defense Force as they arrive at the island of Iwo Jima, now officially called Iwo To in Japan ...

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito has visited Iwo Jima to pay tribute to Japanese and Americans who died on the island in one of World War II's bloodiest battles.