TOKYO - The Emperor, Empress, and their daughter Princess Aiko visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall in Sumida Ward on Thursday afternoon, marking their first visit to the site as Japan observes the 80th year since the end of World War II. They were greeted upon arrival by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and other officials.
The memorial hall enshrines the victims of both the Great Kanto Earthquake and the Tokyo air raids during World War II. The Imperial family offered white flowers before the hall’s altar and bowed deeply in prayer.
Following the ceremony, the Emperor and his family spoke with bereaved relatives who lost loved ones in the bombings. The Emperor asked, “Who did you lose?” and said softly, “That must have been very painful.” The Empress expressed compassion, saying, “You must have gone through a lot,” while Princess Aiko asked, “Where were you at that time?”—each speaking earnestly and with solemn expressions.
While the previous Emperor and Empress offered flowers at the memorial during milestones such as the 50th anniversary of the war’s end in 1995 and the 70th anniversary in 2015, this was the first time the current Imperial family has visited the site.
This year, as Japan marks 80 years since the end of the war, the Emperor and Empress have continued their memorial visits across the nation, including to Iwo Jima in the Ogasawara Islands, Okinawa, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, to honor the memory of those who perished in the conflict.
Source: TBS
