Japan's emperor and empress to visit Hiroshima in June
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will visit Hiroshima Prefecture on June 19-20, their first visit to the prefecture since the emperor's enthronement in 2019, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday.
The imperial couple will visit the city of Hiroshima to commemorate the victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing and observe reconstruction in an area hit hard by a massive landslide in 2014.
On June 19, the emperor and the empress will offer flowers at the monument in the Peace Memorial Park for those who died in the atomic bombing, visit a center showcasing damage from the weapon and hold talks with hibakusha atomic bomb survivors at the Peace Memorial Museum.
The following day, the couple are scheduled to visit an erosion control dam built in Asaminami Ward following the 2014 disaster. At a memorial center, they will meet with disaster-afflicted citizens.
The emperor and the empress will also meet with residents of a care facility for hibakusha.
As part of events marking the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited Ioto, a Pacific island widely known as Iwo Jima, a major battlefield in the war, in April.
On June 4-5, the couple and their daughter, Princess Aiko, will visit Okinawa Prefecture, where a fierce ground battle took place during the war.
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