Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit the Philippines from Jan. 26 to 30 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of relations, it was announced Friday.

It will be the first official visit by a Japanese Emperor to the nation, where around 1.1 million Filipinos and other residents died during World War II. In addition, about 518,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians died, according to the Japanese government.

The Imperial couple are expected to pay tribute at a monument to Japanese war dead erected by the Japanese government, and to visit a cemetery where Filipinos and other nationalities are buried.