Latest news with #EmpressMasako
NHK
2 hours 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
12 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
15 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.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Japan's Royal Couple Mourn A-Bomb Victims Ahead of Hiroshima's 80th Anniversary
Japan's Emperor Naruhito paid respects to atomic bombing victims in Hiroshima as the city marks the 80th anniversary of the tragedy later this year. Naruhito, accompanied by his wife, Empress Masako, bowed deeply at the cenotaph for the atomic bombing victims and offered bouquets of white flowers. The atomic bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city, killing 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century aggression in Asia. Naruhito has repeatedly stressed the importance to remember and keep telling the tragedy of the war to younger generations. Naruhito and Masako also visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to observe exhibits, including those featuring Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots organization awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize. The couple met atomic bombing survivors, or hibakusha, and those born after the war and trained to tell the stories on behalf of those who can no longer do so. Naruhito is making his third trip to mourn the war dead this year. In April, the couple visited Iwo Jima to pay tribute to about 20,000 Japanese and nearly 7,000 US Marines killed in the Battle of Iwo Jima, fought from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945. Earlier this month, Naruhito also visited Okinawa to mourn about 188,000 Japanese – half of them Okinawan civilians – and about 12,000 Americans killed in the Battle of Okinawa. Naruhito accompanied his daughter, Princess Aiko, underscoring his wish that she would learn the hardships of the Okinawan people and share their stories with younger generations.
Washington Post
a day ago
- General
- Washington Post
Japan's royal couple mourn A-bomb victims ahead of Hiroshima's 80th anniversary
TOKYO — Japan's Emperor Naruhito paid respects to atomic bombing victims in Hiroshima as the city marks the 80th anniversary of the tragedy later this year. Naruhito, accompanied by his wife, Empress Masako , bowed deeply at the cenotaph for the atomic bombing victims and offered bouquets of white flowers. The atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city, killing 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century aggression in Asia. Naruhito has repeatedly stressed the importance to remember and keep telling the tragedy of the war to younger generations. Naruhito and Masako were also to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to observe exhibits, including those featuring Nihon Hidankyo , a grassroots organization awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize. The couple were to meet atomic bombing survivors, or hibakusha, and those born after the war and trained to tell the stories on behalf of those who can no longer do so. Naruhito is making his third trip to mourn the war dead this year. In April, the couple visited Iwo Jima to pay tribute to about 20,000 Japanese and nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines killed in the Battle of Iwo Jima, fought from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945. Earlier this month, Naruhito also visited Okinawa to mourn about 188,000 Japanese, half of them Okinawan civilians, and about 12,000 Americans, killed in the Battle of Okinawa . Naruhito accompanied his daughter, Princess Aiko , underscoring his wish that she would learn the hardships of the Okinawan people and share their stories with younger generations.
