Emperor, Empress mourn A-Bomb victims in Hiroshima

It was the Imperial couple's first visit to Hiroshima Prefecture since the Emperor's enthronement in 2019. They met hibakusha, atomic bomb survivors, as well as younger generations committed to passing on the memory of the bombing.

On the day, the Emperor and Empress arrived at Hiroshima Airport on a special plane from Tokyo's Haneda Airport and went to Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park. Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui led them as they offered white flowers at the cenotaph for those who died in the atomic bombing.

They then made their first visit to the Exhibit Facility for Atomic-Bombed Remnants, which opened within the park in 2022. Emperor Naruhito expressed sorrow after viewing exhibits of bombed houses and hearing an explanation about the large number of deaths.

At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the couple viewed exhibits such as burned clothing and a tricycle, with sad expressions on their faces. They spoke with three hibakusha and two storytellers.

Yoshiko Kajimoto, 94, a hibakusha who experienced the bombing at the age of 14 at an aeroplane propeller parts factory, spoke about her experience of being crushed under a building. When she expressed her strong opposition to war, the Empress replied that peace is important.

Airi Shono, a 22-year-old elementary school teacher and storyteller who engages in peace education, was asked by the Emperor what she wanted to convey the most through her activities.

After his visit, the Emperor told museum director Yoshifumi Ishida that it is essential to spread the truth about the atomic bombing to the world.

It was the Imperial couple's third trip this year aimed at commemorating those who died in the war and passing on the memories of its horrors to the next generation.

Before the ongoing trip, they visited Ioto, a remote Tokyo island widely known as Iwo Jima, a major battlefield in the war, in April, and the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, where a fierce ground battle took place during the war, earlier this month.

On Friday morning, the couple will visit the Yagi district of the city's Asaminami Ward, which was seriously damaged by a massive landslide in 2014.

After inspecting an erosion control dam built in the district, they will go to the Hiroshima City Torrential Rain Disaster Memorial Centre, which opened in 2023. They will speak with people affected by the disaster there.

Later on Friday, the Emperor and Empress will visit Yano Orizuru-en, a nursing home for hibakusha. They will return to Tokyo in the evening.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]