Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will make a five-day trip to the Philippines from Jan. 26 on the 60th anniversary of the normalization of ties between the two nations.
It will be the first official visit by a Japanese Emperor to the Southeast Asian country, where around 1.1 million Filipinos and some 518,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians perished during World War II.
The Emperor and Empress visited the Philippines in 1962, when they were Crown Prince and Crown Princess. Their return after more than half a century comes at the invitation of President Benigno Aquino, who extended it during his state visit to Japan last June.