As Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visit Mongolia, having arrived Sunday for a weeklong tour, Shuzo Yamada recalls his internment there nearly 80 years ago — a memory still vivid for the 107-year-old Japanese man.

The imperial couple, the first reigning emperor and empress to visit the central Asian nation, will offer flowers Tuesday at a memorial for Japanese who were captured by the Soviet Union after World War II and died while detained in Mongolia.

"Without water or food, I had an unimaginable experience," says Yamada, who heads the national association for former detainees and now lives in Nanto, Toyama Prefecture.