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.
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