Japan Imperial Couple Mulling Visit to Iwojima

Tokyo, Jan. 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Imperial Household Agency is considering a visit by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to the island of Iwoto, also known as Iwojima, in April to pay respects to soldiers killed in World War II, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The remote Tokyo island in the Ogasawara island chain in the western Pacific saw heavy fighting in the closing days of the war, leaving some 20,000 Japanese soldiers dead there.

The Imperial couple is also seen possibly visiting the prefectures of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa this year, which marks 80 years since the country's surrender in the war. Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered atomic bombings during the war, while Okinawa was the site of a ground battle against the Allied forces.

Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko visited Iwoto in February 1994, a year before the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. On the island, they visited the Tenzan Ireihi monument erected by the Japanese government and a memorial facility for both the Japanese and U.S. war dead built by the Tokyo metropolitan government.

At a press conference in February 2023, the Emperor expressed remorse for the many lives lost on Iwoto and said he wanted to "deepen understanding about the history of the war period."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]