
Work begins to recover Japanese WWII war dead in Palau
Documents suggest that 1,086 Japanese World War II soldiers were buried in a mass grave on Palau's Peleliu Island. Now, a team commissioned by the Japanese government is hoping to bring them home. NHK's Ito Kenya was at the scene.
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NHK
9 hours ago
- NHK
Illegal drug detected in driver whose car plunged onto expressway in Japan
Investigative sources say the driver of a vehicle that fell onto the Tomei Expressway in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, tested positive for an illegal drug. The passenger car, driven by a 47-year-old man, broke through a roadside barrier in Hamamatsu City on Sunday afternoon and plunged onto the expressway about 10 meters below. The driver fled the scene, leaving two children inside the car. Police have arrested the driver on suspicion of driving a car without a license and abandoning the car on the expressway. Police are investigating why the suspect left the two children at the scene. Their mother and the suspect are believed to be in a relationship.


Japan Times
10 hours ago
- Japan Times
Imperial family mourns WWII victims in two-day visit to Okinawa
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, on Thursday wrapped up their two-day visit to Okinawa Prefecture to mourn those killed in the Battle of Okinawa 80 years ago during the closing months of World War II. It was Princess Aiko's first visit to Okinawa Prefecture, which reflected the imperial couple's wish that memories of the war be passed onto the next generation, according to a close aide. On Thursday morning, the family visited a monument in Naha for the victims of the 1944 sinking of the Tsushima Maru evacuation ship, and laid bouquets of white flowers as they bowed deeply. They later visited the Tsushima-maru Memorial Museum. In August 1944, the Tsushima Maru, carrying about 1,800 people, including schoolchildren and other evacuees from Okinawa, was sunk in a U.S. torpedo attack. According to the operator of the museum, at least 1,484 people were killed in the incident. After arriving at Naha Airport on Wednesday, the imperial family traveled to the city of Itoman, a site of fierce ground battles, and laid flowers at the National War Dead Peace Mausoleum. The three bowed deeply in front of an ossuary holding remains. At Itoman, the family also visited the Cornerstone of Peace, on which the names of some 240,000 war victims are engraved. Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, visit a monument for the victims of the 1944 sinking of the Tsushima Maru evacuation ship in Naha on Thursday. | Jiji They then viewed a permanent exhibition at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum, looking closely at photographs and testimonies from the war. The family also spoke with 10 individuals, including survivors and those who lost family members. The imperial couple offered words of comfort to them and the princess said she felt the importance of peace and of hearing about experiences directly from people in Okinawa. Among the 10 was Rieko Tamaki, 91, from Naha, who lost eight of her 10 family members, including her father, brothers and grandparents, during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Tamaki told the imperial family that she had escaped alone through shellfire and that her father was a military doctor. The imperial family members expressed their sympathy as they listened to the story. Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, visit the Cornerstone of Peace, on which the names of some 240,000 war victims are engraved, in Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on Wednesday. | pool / via Jiji After the session, Tamaki told reporters, "I have complicated feelings about the emperor's family, but I felt their willingness to learn and understand." In Okinawa, more than 200,000 people were killed in fierce ground battles in the final stages of World War II. It was Emperor Naruhito's seventh visit to Okinawa and his third with Empress Masako. Their last visit took place in October 2022. On Thursday afternoon, the family inspected restoration efforts for the main hall of Shuri Castle, which was destroyed by a fire in 2019, before returning to Tokyo on a special aircraft Thursday night.


The Mainichi
11 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Imperial family marks WWII evacuation ship tragedy in Okinawa
NAHA (Kyodo) -- Japan's Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter Princess Aiko paid their respects Thursday in Okinawa to victims of a Japanese evacuation ship that was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine during World War II. On the final day of their two-day trip to the prefecture on the 80th year of the end of the war, the imperial family offered flowers and bowed deeply at a memorial in Naha for the Tsushima Maru incident, in which around 1,500 people, including hundreds of schoolchildren, were killed. The family also visited the nearby memorial museum for the first time, viewing portraits and personal belongings of the children who died before speaking with survivors and bereaved families. They listened intently as one of the survivors, 85-year-old Masakatsu Takara, spoke about losing nine members of his family, including his parents and siblings. The Tsushima Maru was torpedoed close to the Tokara Islands in southwestern Japan en route to Nagasaki from Okinawa while complying with a government evacuation order in August 1944. In 2014, then Emperor Akihito and then Empress Michiko also visited the memorial on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the tragedy. Wrapping up their trip on Thursday, the imperial family visited the restoration site of Shuri Castle, where most of the main structures were destroyed by fire in 2019. The previous day, the imperial family paid their respects at the national cemetery in Itoman and spoke with bereaved family members, as well as youth helping to preserve and share wartime stories for future generations. Okinawa fell to U.S. forces in the final months of World War II through the Battle of Okinawa, which began in March 1945 with the landing of American troops on the Kerama Islands near Okinawa's main island. Around 200,000 people -- both Japanese and American -- lost their lives in the ensuing ground battle. The latest visit to Japan's southernmost island prefecture is part of a series of visits by the imperial couple to mourn the war dead on the key anniversary year. In April, the emperor and empress visited Iwoto Island, formerly known as Iwojima, the site of a fierce battle in the Pacific between Japan and the United States. The couple is also scheduled to visit the atomic-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki later this month. Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on Aug. 15, 1945, bringing an end to World War II.