Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Okinawa on Tuesday to pay tribute to the war dead, with their trip to the major World War II battlefield possibly their last before the Emperor's abdication in April next year.
During the three-day trip, the 11th for the Imperial Couple, they will stay in Naha and travel for the first time to the westernmost island of Yonaguni, from where Taiwan can be seen.
The trip was arranged following a strong desire expressed by the Emperor and Empress, who have long felt sympathy for Okinawa, where around a quarter of the residents died in a three-month ground battle in 1945. After the war, Okinawa was occupied by the United States until it rejoined Japan in 1972.