Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will make a three-day visit to Okinawa from March 27 to commemorate the victims of World War II in what might be their final trip to the prefecture before the Emperor's abdication, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday.
The Imperial Couple will stay in Naha and travel to the westernmost island of Yonaguni for the first time, the agency said.
The trip was arranged because the couple had a strong desire to visit Okinawa, where the fierce Battle of Okinawa took place in spring 1945, agency officials said. After Japan lost the war and was occupied by the United States, Okinawa reverted to Japanese rule in 1972.