The Imperial Household Agency is considering a visit by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to the island of Iwo Jima 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 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 are also seen possibly visiting the prefectures of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa this year, which marks 80 years since the country's surrender in World War II. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered atomic bombings during the war, while Okinawa Prefecture was the site of a ground battle against the Allied forces.
Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko visited Iwo Jima 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 Japanese and U.S. war dead built by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
At a news conference in February 2023, the emperor expressed remorse for the many lives lost on Iwo Jima and said he wanted to "deepen understanding about the history of the war period."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.