Emperor, Empress Start 3-Day Okinawa tour

March 27, 2018

Naha, Okinawa Pref.- Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived in Okinawa on Tuesday for a three-day tour, which was arranged based on the couple's strong wish to visit the southernmost prefecture before the Emperor's abdication next year.

A special jet carrying the couple flew to Naha Airport in the prefectural capital of Naha from Tokyo International Airport at Haneda.

This will be their sixth visit to Okinawa since the Emperor ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1989 and the 11th in total, including the trips they made as Crown Prince and Crown Princess.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Emperor and the Empress are set to visit the Okinawa Peace Hall in the city of Itoman.

After that, they will go to the National War Dead Peace Mausoleum, also in Itoman, to lay flowers for those who died in the Battle of Okinawa, savage ground fighting that took place in the final stage of World War II. The couple will also meet with bereaved families of victims of the battle.

On Wednesday, the couple will make their first trip to the Okinawa island of Yonaguni.

During their stay in Yonaguni, they will visit the cape of Irizaki, where there is a monument showing that it is the westernmost tip of Japan, and watch a traditional performing art at an elementary school.

They will also observe the Yonaguni uma, a native horse, and the Yonagunisan, a native moth that is one of the largest moths in the world.

On Thursday, the Imperial couple will watch a karate performance at Okinawa Karate Kaikan hall, which opened last year in the city of Tomigusuku to promote the martial art of Okinawan origin, before returning to Tokyo.

The trip will likely be the couple's last to Okinawa in their current positions since the Emperor is slated to step down at the end of April 2019. Jiji Press