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NHK
an hour ago
- General
- NHK
Japan's Emperor, Empress wrap up trip to Hiroshima
Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have wrapped up a visit to Hiroshima. They met with survivors of the atomic bomb and paid their respects to people who died in World War Two. The Imperial couple's visit took place on Thursday and Friday. It was their first time in Hiroshima since the Emperor ascended the throne in 2019. On Friday they visited a nursing home for atomic bomb survivors, also known as hibakusha. The facility houses 94 people aged between 81 and 103. The Emperor and Empress asked some of them about where they lived at the time of the blast and their time at the nursing home. They also wished the hibakusha good health. This year marks 80 years since the end of World War Two. The Emperor and Empress believe it is important to pass on people's memories of the war to younger generations. On Thursday the Imperial couple paid their respects to the war dead at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. They also talked with people who have been trained to convey the stories of the hibakusha, who are advancing in age.
NHK
11 hours ago
- General
- NHK
Japan's Emperor and Empress visit 2014 Hiroshima mudslide disaster site
Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have visited an area in the city of Hiroshima that was devastated by a rain-triggered disaster 11 years ago. Localized downpours in August 2014 caused mudslides and landslides at a total of 166 locations in the city. Currents of mud and debris struck residential communities at the foot of the hills, resulting in 77 fatalities, including those who died later due to related causes. The couple visited the Yagi district in Asaminami Ward on Friday. The area suffered great losses of life from the disaster. Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko visited the district as reigning emperor and empress in 2014, four months after the catastrophe. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako were briefed by land ministry officials on the sand-control dam built at the site where houses had been swept away. The couple bowed in the direction of where 23 lives were lost. They went on to visit the Hiroshima City Torrential Rain Disaster Memorial Center, which exhibits the testimonies of survivors and documents rebuilding efforts based on the lessons learned from the disaster. The center was built in 2023. The Empress asked the director of the facility, who is a survivor himself, if his house had been completely destroyed. The Emperor asked how the survivors' accounts were collected. The couple also met with people who were affected by the disaster. The Emperor offered encouraging words to a survivor who lost his mother and his house in a mudslide.
NHK
14 hours ago
- Politics
- NHK
Japan's Emperor and Empress to visit Mongolia in July
It has been formally decided that Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will make an official visit to Mongolia in July. Their itinerary includes a visit to a memorial for Japanese nationals who died there after World War Two. The couple's trip to Mongolia for eight days from July 6 was decided at a Cabinet meeting on Friday. It will be their first trip to Mongolia as Emperor and Empress. They are scheduled to depart from Tokyo's Haneda Airport in the morning and arrive at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital, in the afternoon. The Emperor and Empress will attend a welcome ceremony on July 8 as state guests and meet with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and his wife, Luvsandorj Bolortsetseg, in a ger, a traditional tent-like structure, designed to host special guests within government facilities. They will attend a banquet at a hotel in the capital in the evening. The couple is also scheduled to pay their respects at a monument for Japanese nationals who died from hard labor and other causes after being detained by the former Soviet Union and sent to Mongolia shortly after World War Two. The Emperor and Empress will also have opportunities to learn the history and culture of Mongolia and to interact with local people. Toward the end of the trip, the couple is expected to attend the opening ceremony of Naadam, the national sports festival, and watch competitions in such events as archery and horse racing. Their itinerary also includes a visit to a national park where a rare horse species roams a vast expanse of grassland.
NHK
2 days ago
- NHK
Imperial couple to visit Hiroshima on Thursday, Friday
Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will begin a two-day visit to Hiroshima on Thursday, as 2025 marks 80 years since the end of World War Two. The trip will be the Imperial couple's first to the atomic-bombed city since the Emperor ascended the throne in 2019. Some 3.1 million Japanese people are said to have died in the war. An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in western Japan on August 6, 1945, shortly before the end of the conflict. It is estimated that some 140,000 people in Hiroshima died as a result of the bombing by the end of that year. The Imperial couple are scheduled to arrive at Hiroshima Airport before noon on Thursday. They will visit Peace Memorial Park in the afternoon to lay flowers at the cenotaph dedicated to atomic bomb victims. They will then visit the Exhibit Facility for Atomic-Bombed Remnants, which opened in the park three years ago. They will also pay a visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to view exhibits there, including one related to Nihon Hidankyo, an organization representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that won last year's Nobel Peace Prize. The Emperor and Empress are making a series of visits to World War Two landmarks this year. Taking into account their wish to pass on memories of the war to generations that have not experienced it, they will meet not only survivors of the atomic bombing but younger people trained as "A-bomb Legacy Successors," who have learned the survivors' stories and will carry those memories forward to future generations.
NHK
12-06-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Princess Kako pays courtesy call on Brazilian president
Japan's Princess Kako, who is on an official visit to Brazil, has paid a courtesy call on the country's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The second daughter of Crown Prince and Princess Akishino visited the presidential office in the capital Brasilia on Wednesday. The princess conveyed her gratitude for the warm welcome she has received in Brazil. Lula visited Japan as a state guest and met with Emperor Naruhito in March. He told the princess that the Emperor was very kind, affectionate and receptive. The princess also visited Brazil's Congress earlier in the day. There, she attended a ceremony commemorating 130 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Brazil. The princess said she hopes the relationship between the two countries will continue to deepen and remain long-lasting. She said she envisions a future in which people from both countries continue to deepen their exchanges and remain close to each other. The princess is scheduled to stay in Brasilia until Thursday. On Friday, she is expected to visit Mount Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, upon which a giant statue of Christ overlooks the city.
