Following is a list of key events related to Palau and the visit this week by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko to mourn the war dead:
1914 — Japan seizes Palau and other Pacific islands at the start of World War I.
1920 — Palau and other former German colonies in the Pacific become "mandatory territory" under the League of Nations and are put under Japanese administration.
Dec. 8, 1941 — Japan launches a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii (Dec. 7 Hawaiian time), marking the start of the Pacific phase of World War II.
Sept. 15, 1944 — The battle of Peleliu Island begins with a U.S. invasion.
Aug. 15, 1945 — Emperor Showa (Hirohito) tells the nation over radio of Japan's surrender and the end of World War II.
June 27-28, 2005 — The Imperial Couple travel to Saipan to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II by mourning those who died there during the war.
June 26-27, 2014 — The Imperial Couple visit Okinawa ahead of the 70th anniversary of the sinking of the transportation ship Tsushima Maru, which was carrying hundreds of schoolchildren when it was torpedoed by the U.S. military.
April 8-9, 2015 — The Imperial Couple visit Palau to pay tribute to the war dead ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.