Japanese Emperor to Visit Pearl Harbor in July

[MrPerson]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/4918516/Japanese-emperor-to-visit-Pearl-Harbor-for-first-time-since-war.html

The Japanese emperor is likely to visit Pearl Harbor in July, the first time a member of the imperial family will have visited the site of the surprise attack that brought the United States into the Second World War.

Emperor Akihito will be accompanied by Empress Michiko for the visit, which is designed to promote peace and reconciliation between the former enemies.

The Imperial Household Agency declined to confirm the dates of the visit, which will be the emperor’s first overseas trip since 2007. The emperor has been suffering from ill-health in recent months and was hospitalised late last year for treatment for internal bleeding.

The trip, which is likely to include a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, is considered highly symbolic. No Japanese political leader has ever visited the site of the December 7, 1941, attack - an event that President Franklin D. Roosevelt described as a “day of infamy.”

Four US Navy battleships were sunk in the ariel attack, four more were damaged, while a number of cruisers, destroyers and minelayers were also sunk. A further 188 aircraft were destroyed and more than 2,400 US military personnel were killed.

The remains of hundreds of sailors remain entombed within the USS Arizona, sunk by a bomb that detonated in one of the ship’s magazines.

The emperor, whose father was on the throne during the conflict, has a track record of visiting places that were the sites of key events during the war, regularly paying his respects at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as on the Pacific island of Saipan in 2005.

The imperial couple reportedly considered a similar visit to Pearl Harbor in 1994, on an official trip to the United States, but concerns were raised at home that it might be considered political exploitation of the emperor.

The Japanese government is presently trying to build on its relationship with Washington, which it fears is keen on closer ties with Beijing. A key element of the bilateral relationship is defence issues.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Interesting! Thanks! nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

2. Wow!

That. Is going to be intense.

[hendo]

3. and he is going to say..

"The declaration of war was in the mail"

actually, little known fact, it was. The declaration of war arrived at the next Monday. Stupid post office, it was supposed to arrive the Saturday before.

[originalpckelly]

4. I've been there.

It's very somber place, back in the '90s, there were still oil slicks.

I think it takes balls to go there. Especially since this guy is Hirohito's son.

[MrPerson]

5. Me too. Last December.

I wonder if the Emperor will take the Navy boat over to the Arizona.

I bet he stays at Hilton Hawaiian Village.