National News Emperor visits war memorials in Saipan

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SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (AP, Kyodo) - On the first trip by a Japanese monarch to a World War II battlefield overseas, the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited memorials in Saipan on June 27 and 28 honoring Japanese, American, Korean and local islander war dead.

The Imperial Couple's visit, however, to a Korean peace memorial, which commemorates Koreans who died in battle after being forced to serve Japan, had not been scheduled and was announced shortly after their arrival in Saipan. Some Koreans had considered the omission a snub and threatened protests.

The visit came amid growing anger in China and in South Korea over what many see as Japan's failure to make amends for its brutal past.

Saipan's fall was a turning point in the war in the Pacific. As many as 55,000 Japanese, 5,000 Americans, 1,000 islanders, and over 5,000 Koreans died here.

天皇皇后、サイパンを慰霊訪問

天皇・皇后両陛下は6月27日と28日、戦没者慰霊のためサイパンを訪問した。

Shukan ST: July 8, 2005

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