Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived in the capital of Vietnam on Tuesday evening on their first trip to the Southeast Asian country where they will meet with the Vietnamese wives and children of former Japanese soldiers to promote goodwill and soothe some of the wounds left over from World War II.

The weeklong tour will also take the Imperial Couple to Thailand to pay their respects to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died last October.

"In our relations with Vietnam, we welcomed as state guests to Japan His Excellency President Nguyen Minh Triet in 2007 and His Excellency President Truong Tan Sang in 2014, and we have been kindly offered invitations to visit Vietnam," the Emperor said at Tokyo's Haneda airport before departure.