The names of 80 Japanese submariners who died in battle during a World War II in north Australian waters are now enshrined on Darwin's coastline.
Japanese Submarine I-124 was sunk by HMAS Deloraine on January 20, 1942, a month before the bombing of Darwin, after a series of covert missions along Australia's northern coastline.
The I-124 had tried, unsuccessfully, to attack a convoy and sink a US oil tanker, before the HMAS Deloraine gave chase and sank the submarine with a barrage of depth charges, killing its captain and 79 crew onboard.
On Friday, Japan's Ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, and Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner unveiled a plaque at Darwin's Dripstone Cliffs, on which the names of all 80 fallen submariners are etched.
A shrine to the battle was initially built on the cliffs in 2017.
The 80th anniversary of the bombing of Darwin — the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australian soil — will officially be commemorated on Saturday, February 19.
Speaking at the memorial, Mr Yamagami said Australia and Japan, although they had once been at war, will always be stronger together.
"There is a lot we can do together, Australia and Japan," he said.
Mr Gunner invoked the words former Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Attaturk once spoke in addressing the aftermath of the battle at Gallipoli: "You, the mothers, who sent their sons from away countries, wipe away your tears," Mr Gunner said, "Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace, after having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well."
The Territory's Chief Minister said Australia and Japan were now bound by mutual obligation as allies to secure peace in the region.
"We now share a duty, along with India, the United States and our other friends and partners, to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.
