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Kyodo News
an hour ago
- Politics
- Kyodo News
Japan imperial couple visit Hiroshima A-bomb survivors nursing home
KYODO NEWS - 6 minutes ago - 21:39 | All, Japan Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Friday visited a nursing home in Hiroshima for atomic bomb survivors, wrapping up a two-day trip to the city ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. At Yano Orizuruen, they listened attentively to recollections of the bombing by 10 residents aged between 81 and 99, bending down to be at eye level with those seated in chairs or wheelchairs. One of the residents, 95-year-old Chieko Yamanaka, shared that she had lost her mother to an atomic bomb-related illness. The emperor acknowledged her grief while emphasizing the importance of peace. With this trip, the emperor has now visited all four nursing homes for atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima. His parents, former Emperor Akihito and former Empress Michiko, also visited Yano Orizuruen in 2014 during their reign. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako earlier Friday also paid their respects at Asaminami Ward, an area hit hard by a landslide in August 2014 that claimed 77 lives. They then visited the nearby Hiroshima City Torrential Rain Disaster Memorial Center to speak with survivors, listening solemnly to a couple who lost their sons, aged 11 and 2, in the disaster. The latest trip is part of a series of visits by the imperial couple to mourn the war dead on the key anniversary year. In April, the emperor and empress visited Iwoto Island, formerly known as Iwojima, the site of a fierce battle in the Pacific between Japan and the United States, and Okinawa earlier this month with their daughter, Princess Aiko. The couple is scheduled to visit the other atomic-bombed city of Nagasaki in September. Related coverage: Japan imperial couple to embark on historic visit to Mongolia in July Emperor renews peace hope in Hiroshima for 80th anniv. of war's end Japan's Princess Kako leaves for Brazil to mark 130 years of ties
3 hours ago
- Health
Imperial Couple Visit A-Bomb Survivors' Nursing Home in Hiroshima
News from Japan Society Jun 20, 2025 20:08 (JST) Hiroshima, June 20 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Friday visited Yano Orizuru-en, a nursing home for survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of the western city of Hiroshima. The Imperial couple visited the facility for the first time and met with 10 nursing home residents aged 81 to 99. Emperor Emeritus Akihito visited the nursing home with Empress Emerita Michiko in 2014, before he abdicated the throne. Yano Orizuru-en is home to 94 survivors, whose average age exceeds 90. Speaking to Chieko Yamanaka, a 95-year-old who experienced the atomic bombing at the age of 15 and whose mother died less than a month after it, the Emperor said that peace is important, while the Empress consoled Yamanaka. Empress Masako wished for Yoshiko Morinaga, a 99-year-old whose birthday is in October, to celebrate her 100th birthday in good health. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Kyodo News
4 hours ago
- Kyodo News
Japan imperial couple to embark on historic visit to Mongolia in July
KYODO NEWS - 6 hours ago - 12:37 | Japan, World, All Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are scheduled to make a state visit to Mongolia from July 6 to 13 in what will be the first such trip by a Japanese emperor, according to a plan approved by the government on Friday. During the trip, the emperor and empress will lay flowers at a memorial on July 8 to commemorate Japanese nationals who died while in internment camps there after World War II. The Soviet military transferred around 14,000 Japanese detainees from Siberia to Mongolia following the war, and more than 1,700 died. The Japanese government later established the memorial near Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar. On the same day, the imperial couple is expected to meet with President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and his wife after attending a welcome ceremony. They will then participate in a banquet hosted by the Mongolian leader that night. The itinerary also includes their attendance at the opening ceremony of Naadam, Mongolia's largest annual festival, on July 11. It will be the imperial couple's first overseas goodwill visit since they traveled to Britain in June last year. The empress, who has long battled a stress-induced illness, may not attend every event out of consideration for her health, according to the Imperial Household Agency. The couple will depart from Tokyo's Haneda airport by a government plane on July 6, bound for Ulaanbaatar. The Mongolian president and his wife extended an invitation to the Japanese imperial couple during a trip to Japan in November 2022, according to the agency. The emperor previously traveled to Mongolia as crown prince in 2007, when he paid respects at the monument. Related coverage: Emperor renews peace hope in Hiroshima for 80th anniv. of war's end Princess Kako visits Iguacu Falls as visit to Brazil ends
The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japan imperial couple to embark on historic visit to Mongolia in July
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are scheduled to make a state visit to Mongolia from July 6 to 13 in what will be the first such trip by a Japanese emperor, according to a plan approved by the government on Friday. During the trip, the emperor and empress will lay flowers at a memorial on July 8 to commemorate Japanese nationals who died while in internment camps there after World War II. The Soviet military transferred around 14,000 Japanese detainees from Siberia to Mongolia following the war, and more than 1,700 died. The Japanese government later established the memorial near Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar. On the same day, the imperial couple is expected to meet with President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and his wife after attending a welcome ceremony. They will then participate in a banquet hosted by the Mongolian leader that night. The itinerary also includes their attendance at the opening ceremony of Naadam, Mongolia's largest annual festival, on July 11. It will be the imperial couple's first overseas goodwill visit since they traveled to Britain in June last year. The empress, who has long battled a stress-induced illness, may not attend every event out of consideration for her health, according to the Imperial Household Agency. The couple will depart from Tokyo's Haneda airport by a government plane on July 6, bound for Ulaanbaatar. The Mongolian president and his wife extended an invitation to the Japanese imperial couple during a trip to Japan in November 2022, according to the agency. The emperor previously traveled to Mongolia as crown prince in 2007, when he paid respects at the monument.
5 hours ago
- General
Imperial Couple Visits 2014 Hiroshima Rain Disaster Site
Hiroshima, June 20 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited Friday a district in the western city of Hiroshima that was severely hit by a torrential rain-caused sediment disaster in August 2014 and learned to what extent reconstruction work has made progress there. At the Obarayama erosion control dam in the Yagi district of the city's Asaminami Ward, built in the wake of the disaster, the Imperial couple bowed down twice toward where houses were swept away by a mudslide after being briefed on the dam by a land ministry official. Then they moved to the Hiroshima City Torrential Rain Disaster Memorial Center, opened in 2023, and met with survivors of the disaster, which directly and indirectly killed 77 people. According to the municipal government, 52 lives were lost in the district. The previous Imperial couple, now the Emperor Emeritus and the Empress Emerita, visited there in December 2014. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are set to return to Tokyo on a special flight in the evening after making their first visit to Yano Orizuru-en, a nursing home for survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing in the city. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
