Japanese imperial couple visits Pacific Island to mark 80 years since World War II

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Japanese imperial couple Monday paid a visit to the Iwoto Island in the Pacific, to mark 80 years since World War II, Kyodo News reported.

The Iwoto Island, 776 miles south of the capital Tokyo, saw a fierce World War II battle between Japan and the US, which left an estimated 21,900 Japanese and 7,000 American soldiers dead.

The trip to the island by Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako is the first of a series of events to mark 80 years since the war ended.

On the island, the couple will honor those who died during the fighting.

Formerly known as Iwojima, the island was returned to Tokyo in 1968 and later officially renamed in 2007.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and the defense ministers for Japan and the US visited the island on March 29 to mark 80 years since the battle.

In 1994, former Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the island to mark 50 years since the war ended,

Later this June, the current imperial couple are scheduled to visit Japan’s southernmost Okinawa Island which saw deaths of about a quarter of its population during the war.

Naruhito and Masako will later visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- the twin cities devastated by US atomic bombings in 1945.

The US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, killing 140,000 people.

Three days later, another bomb hit Nagasaki, killing an additional 70,000. Japan surrendered Aug. 15, 1945, ending World War II.