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Japan Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Today
Emperor, empresss, Princess Aiko honor war dead in Okinawa
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, pay their respects at the national cemetery for the war dead in Itoman, Okinawa, on Wednesday. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako paid their respects to the war dead in Okinawa on Wednesday ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, accompanied by their daughter Princess Aiko on her first trip to the prefecture. The imperial family visited the national cemetery in Itoman and laid flowers at the ossuary housing the remains of approximately 180,000 people who died in the battle. They spoke with bereaved family members who had gathered there and visited the Cornerstone of Peace cenotaph, where the names of the war dead are inscribed. The couple strongly encouraged their daughter to join them on the two-day trip, a move underscoring the imperial family's desire to remember and pass on the lessons of the war to the next generation. The imperial family visited the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum later in the day, where a 91-year-old survivor said Princess Aiko told her she had "felt the importance of peace" through the visit. The family also engaged with youth in their 20s and 30s who are helping to preserve and share wartime stories for future generations, asking what led them to become involved in such efforts. The emperor and empress released a statement through the Imperial Agency after the trip, saying, "With the importance of peace engraved in our hearts, and with remembrance of all who died in the Battle of Okinawa or were forced to endure hardship because of the war, we renew our wish for peace." The emperor has consistently expressed his strong desire for peace, echoing the sentiments of his father, former Emperor Akihito, who reflected at length on the war fought in the name of his father, Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa. Okinawa fell into U.S. hands in the closing months of World War II in 1945 through the Battle of Okinawa, which began in March of that year with the landing of U.S. troops on the Kerama Islands near the main island of Okinawa. Around 200,000 people -- both Japanese and American -- lost their lives in the ensuing ground battle. In July 1975, former Emperor Akihito and former Empress Michiko, then crown prince and princess, became the first imperial family members to visit Okinawa after the war. But with local sentiment toward the emperor remaining deeply conflicted at the time, the couple had a Molotov cocktail thrown at them by radicals during a visit to the Himeyuri Cenotaph, constructed in remembrance of student nurses and teachers killed in the war. Still, the former emperor strived to connect with the locals, becoming, in April 1993, the first-ever reigning emperor to officially visit Okinawa. Together with his time as crown prince, he visited a total of 11 times by 2018 before abdicating the following year. In May 2022, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako remotely attended a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan from U.S. rule and visited the island prefecture the following October for cultural events. 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, to mourn the war dead. The couple is also scheduled to visit the atomic-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki later this month. © KYODO
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Japan's emperor and his family pray in Okinawa for the victims of the island battle 80 years ago
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Emperor Naruhito and his family prayed on Wednesday in Okinawa for all the war dead in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II that was fought on the southern Japanese island 80 years ago. The commemoration comes as many residents of Okinawa and the nearby islands are increasingly concerned about the possibility of another war as regional tensions with China escalate. Naruhito's father, the 91-year-old former Emperor Akihito, cared especially about Okinawa because of its difficult history, setting an example for his son. The emperor and his wife, Empress Masako, asked their 23-year-old daughter, Princess Aiko, to accompany them on Wednesday's trip in an apparent effort to convey their attention for history on the next generation. It is Aiko's first visit to Okinawa. The three first headed to the island's last battlefield of Itoman and laid white flowers before an ossuary at the National War Dead Peace Mausoleum, where the remains of most of the victims are placed. The Battle of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945 when the U.S. troops, in their push for mainland Japan, landed on the island. It lasted until late June, killing more than 200,000 people. Nearly half of them were civilian residents of Okinawa, including students and victims of mass suicides ordered by the Japanese military, which waged the war in the name of Naruhito's grandfather, late Emperor Hirohito. On June 23, the island will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, which led to heavy American troop presence on the island, even after the nearly 30 years of U.S. occupation ended in 1972. Naruhito, in his birthday remarks in February, stressed the importance of telling the tragedy of World War II to younger generations, pledging to contribute to efforts to promote the understanding of history and the determination for peace. The imperial family later on Wednesday visited the Cornerstone of Peace memorial, which has the engraved names of about a quarter million war dead on the Mabuni Hill where the battle ended. They also visited a permanent war exhibit at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum and met with the survivors and families of those bereaved in the battle. Wednesday's visit was Naruhito's seventh visit to Okinawa. He last visited in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Japan's emperor and his family pray in Okinawa for the victims of the island battle 80 years ago
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Emperor Naruhito and his family prayed on Wednesday in Okinawa for all the war dead in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II that was fought on the southern Japanese island 80 years ago. The commemoration comes as many residents of Okinawa and the nearby islands are increasingly concerned about the possibility of another war as regional tensions with China escalate. Naruhito's father, the 91-year-old former Emperor Akihito, cared especially about Okinawa because of its difficult history, setting an example for his son. The emperor and his wife, Empress Masako, asked their 23-year-old daughter, Princess Aiko, to accompany them on Wednesday's trip in an apparent effort to convey their attention for history on the next generation. It is Aiko's first visit to Okinawa. The three first headed to the island's last battlefield of Itoman and laid white flowers before an ossuary at the National War Dead Peace Mausoleum, where the remains of most of the victims are placed. The Battle of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945 when the U.S. troops, in their push for mainland Japan, landed on the island. It lasted until late June, killing more than 200,000 people. Nearly half of them were civilian residents of Okinawa, including students and victims of mass suicides ordered by the Japanese military, which waged the war in the name of Naruhito's grandfather, late Emperor Hirohito. On June 23, the island will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, which led to heavy American troop presence on the island, even after the nearly 30 years of U.S. occupation ended in 1972. Naruhito, in his birthday remarks in February, stressed the importance of telling the tragedy of World War II to younger generations, pledging to contribute to efforts to promote the understanding of history and the determination for peace. The imperial family later on Wednesday visited the Cornerstone of Peace memorial, which has the engraved names of about a quarter million war dead on the Mabuni Hill where the battle ended. They also visited a permanent war exhibit at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum and met with the survivors and families of those bereaved in the battle. Wednesday's visit was Naruhito's seventh visit to Okinawa. He last visited in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan.
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Japan's emperor and his family pray in Okinawa for the victims of the island battle 80 years ago
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Emperor Naruhito and his family prayed on Wednesday in Okinawa for all the war dead in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II that was fought on the southern Japanese island 80 years ago. The commemoration comes as many residents of Okinawa and the nearby islands are increasingly concerned about the possibility of another war as regional tensions with China escalate. Naruhito's father, the 91-year-old former Emperor Akihito , cared especially about Okinawa because of its difficult history, setting an example for his son. The emperor and his wife, Empress Masako, asked their 23-year-old daughter, Princess Aiko , to accompany them on Wednesday's trip in an apparent effort to convey their attention for history on the next generation. It is Aiko's first visit to Okinawa. The three first headed to the island's last battlefield of Itoman and laid white flowers before an ossuary at the National War Dead Peace Mausoleum, where the remains of most of the victims are placed. The Battle of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945 when the U.S. troops, in their push for mainland Japan, landed on the island. It lasted until late June, killing more than 200,000 people. Nearly half of them were civilian residents of Okinawa, including students and victims of mass suicides ordered by the Japanese military, which waged the war in the name of Naruhito's grandfather, late Emperor Hirohito. On June 23, the island will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, which led to heavy American troop presence on the island, even after the nearly 30 years of U.S. occupation ended in 1972. Naruhito, in his birthday remarks in February, stressed the importance of telling the tragedy of World War II to younger generations, pledging to contribute to efforts to promote the understanding of history and the determination for peace. The imperial family later on Wednesday visited the Cornerstone of Peace memorial, which has the engraved names of about a quarter million war dead on the Mabuni Hill where the battle ended. They also visited a permanent war exhibit at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum and met with the survivors and families of those bereaved in the battle. Wednesday's visit was Naruhito's seventh visit to Okinawa. He last visited in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Japan's emperor and his family pray in Okinawa for the victims of the island battle 80 years ago
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Emperor Naruhito and his family prayed on Wednesday in Okinawa for all the war dead in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II that was fought on the southern Japanese island 80 years ago. The commemoration comes as many residents of Okinawa and the nearby islands are increasingly concerned about the possibility of another war as regional tensions with China escalate. Naruhito's father, the 91-year-old former Emperor Akihito, cared especially about Okinawa because of its difficult history, setting an example for his son. The emperor and his wife, Empress Masako, asked their 23-year-old daughter, Princess Aiko, to accompany them on Wednesday's trip in an apparent effort to convey their attention for history on the next generation. It is Aiko's first visit to Okinawa. The three first headed to the island's last battlefield of Itoman and laid white flowers before an ossuary at the National War Dead Peace Mausoleum, where the remains of most of the victims are placed. The Battle of Okinawa began on April 1, 1945 when the U.S. troops, in their push for mainland Japan, landed on the island. It lasted until late June, killing more than 200,000 people. Nearly half of them were civilian residents of Okinawa, including students and victims of mass suicides ordered by the Japanese military, which waged the war in the name of Naruhito's grandfather, late Emperor Hirohito. On June 23, the island will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, which led to heavy American troop presence on the island, even after the nearly 30 years of U.S. occupation ended in 1972. Naruhito, in his birthday remarks in February, stressed the importance of telling the tragedy of World War II to younger generations, pledging to contribute to efforts to promote the understanding of history and the determination for peace. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. The imperial family later on Wednesday visited the Cornerstone of Peace memorial, which has the engraved names of about a quarter million war dead on the Mabuni Hill where the battle ended. They also visited a permanent war exhibit at the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum and met with the survivors and families of those bereaved in the battle. Wednesday's visit was Naruhito's seventh visit to Okinawa. He last visited in 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan.
