Tokyo, 23 January, /AJMEDIA/
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are considering a visit to Iwoto Island in April to pay respects to the victims of the fierce fighting in the closing stages of World War II 80 years ago, a source close to the matter said.
The Imperial Household Agency is also weighing trips by the imperial couple to other war-related sites, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two cities devastated by U.S. atomic bombings, and Okinawa, which saw a fierce ground battle between Japanese and U.S. troops, the source said.
The emperor and empress are expected to make a one-day trip to the Pacific island, around 1,250 kilometers south of Tokyo, using a Self-Defense Forces aircraft, and pray for the war dead and lay flowers in front of two monuments.
In the Battle of Iwo Jima, as the island was previously called, fighting continued for around a month after the U.S. forces landed in February 1945. About 21,900 Japanese soldiers and 7,000 U.S. soldiers died in the battle.
Emperor Naruhito’s parents, former Emperor Akihito and former Empress Michiko, also visited Iwoto Island to mourn the war dead in 1994, the year before the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.