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Emperor Akihito honors Japanese war dead in Philippines Emperor Akihito honors Japanese war dead in Philippines
(about 1 hour later)
CAVINTI, Philippines — With a mournful bow, Emperor Akihito paid his respects Friday at a hilltop war memorial near Manila to the largest number of Japanese invasion troops who died outside their homeland in World War II. CAVINTI, Philippines — With a mournful bow, Emperor Akihito paid his respects in the Philippines Friday to the largest number of Japanese invasion troops who died outside their homeland in World War II.
Clad in black and accompanied by Empress Michiko, they each laid a bouquet of white flowers and silently prayed near a marble cenotaph in the Japanese memorial garden along Lake Caliraya in Laguna province southeast of the Philippine capital. Clad in black and accompanied by Empress Michiko, he and Michiko each laid a bouquet of white flowers and silently prayed near a marble cenotaph in the Japanese memorial garden along Lake Caliraya in Laguna province southeast of the Philippine capital. Some of the 170 relatives of Japanese soldiers wept quietly.
Some of the 170 relatives of Japanese soldiers who witnessed the somber rites wept quietly. Akihito did not speak at the ceremony, but in his only public remarks related to Japan’s wartime aggression, he said at a banquet hosted by President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday that Japan should never forget the massive loss of lives in the war more than 70 years ago.
Akihito did not speak at the ceremony. In his only public remarks related to Japan’s wartime aggression, he said at a state banquet hosted by President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday that Japan should never forget the massive loss of lives in the war more than 70 years ago. Akihito has repeatedly expressed regret for the damage caused by the war, but has never offered a straightforward apology. The furthest he has gone is to express “deep” remorse in an address last year marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the fighting.
“During this war, fierce battles between Japan and the United States took place on Philippine soil, resulting in the loss of many Filipino lives and leaving many Filipinos injured,” said Akihito, adding it was something “we Japanese must never forget.” “I just feel very, very proud of the fact that I was able to present my father and his existence and what he did for his country to the emperor,” said Joyce Tsunoda, holding a picture of a Japanese soldier who died in the Philippines. “I think it was something that I never dreamed that I will be able to do.”
Akihito has repeatedly expressed regret for the damage caused by the war, but has never offered a straightforward apology. The furthest he has gone is to express “deep” remorse in an address last year marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the war. Tsunoda was among the relatives who talked with Akihito and Michiko at the memorial.
Akihito’s visit to the Philippines this week is the latest in a series of foreign trips seen as an attempt to show his commitment to peace and remorse for World War II, when Japanese forces invaded Asian nations in a brutal conflict Japan fought in the name of his father, Hirohito. Akihito’s visit to the Philippines this week is the latest in a series of foreign trips that are seen as an attempt to show his commitment to peace and remorse for World War II, when Japanese forces invaded Asian nations in a brutal conflict Japan fought in the name of his father, Hirohito.
While he has been jeered on previous foreign visits, Akihito was welcomed with full state honors in the Philippines, which now depends on Japan as a leading trading partner, provider of development aid, and a major ally as Manila confronts an assertive Beijing in contested territories in the South China Sea. While the Japanese monarch has been jeered in previous foreign visits, Akihito was welcomed with full state honors in the Philippines, which now depends on Japan as a leading trading partner, provider of development aid and a major ally. The visit comes as the Philippines and Japan both confront an assertive China in contested territories in the East and South China Sea.
__ For some Filipinos, however, old wounds have not healed.
Jim Gomez and Teresa Cerojano contributed to this story from Manila. Isabelita Vinuya, an 84-year-old grandmother who was among dozens of women and girls raped by Japanese troops in Pampanga province, north of Manila, picketed the Japanese Embassy along with seven other elderly victims to demand justice.
“We want to tell the emperor that our case is not being heard by the Japanese government,” she said. “We want him to hear us, so that they will admit to the atrocities they did to us, and take responsibility for it.”
Some historians say that as many as 200,000 Asian women, mostly Korean but also Chinese and others, were forced into Japan’s military brothels during the war.
___
Associated Press writers Jim Gomez and Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.