Since their days as crown prince and princess, the Imperial couple has visited Okinawa — which experienced fierce ground battles that killed large numbers of civilians in the closing days of the war and came under extended U.S. military rules in the postwar decades — a total of 11 times, the latest in March this year that took place reportedly based on their strong wishes.
Yutaka Kawashima, a former grand chamberlain who served the Emperor as a top aide, says the trips that Emperor Akihito made to these places — to mourn for the dead and reflect on the sorrow of the families who lost them — carry the message that the war must not be forgotten.
