Imperial couple visits Okinawa for WWII's 80th anniversary
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, visit Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, on June 4 ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. (Koichi Ueda)
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, visited Okinawa Prefecture on June 4 ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
This is part of the imperial couple's journey to commemorate the war dead and pass on memories of the deceased 80 years after the war's end. Naruhito and Masako visited Iwoto island, formerly known as Iwojima, in April for the same purpose.
The family departed on the morning from Haneda Airport in Tokyo on a dedicated plane for a two-day trip in Okinawa Prefecture.
This is the couple's first visit to Okinawa since 2022, the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's return to Japan after being under U.S. rule, and the second since Naruhito's accession to the throne.
Aiko is visiting the prefecture for the first time.
The Battle of Okinawa, which began in late March 1945 and lasted approximately three months, claimed the lives of more than 200,000 U.S. and Imperial Japanese Army troops and civilians, including 120,000 Okinawans.
The southern part of Okinawa Prefecture's main island saw the largest number of casualties that June as retreating Japanese troops and displaced residents packed into the area.
The remains of Japanese soldiers and residents are housed at the national war cemetery that the three visited, offering bouquets of white flowers, including lilies, in front of the ossuary.
They said a few words to each of the officials of the prefectural bereaved families association who were present.
The family next visited the 'Heiwa no Ishiji' (the Cornerstone of Peace) in the Peace Memorial Park, where the names of more than 200,000 war dead are inscribed, regardless of nationality and whether they were military or civilians.
They were also scheduled to meet with survivors at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum located in the same park.
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