The full text of official records the Imperial Household Agency released on Thursday regarding the 97-year life of the late Empress Kojun (1903-2000), Emperor Showa's wife, includes details of her experiences during World War II.
The official records of Empress Kojun and her two predecessors are now complete, laying the groundwork for research on empresses, the agency said.
According to the records, Empress Kojun, known as Empress Nagako before her death, spent the whole of Aug. 15, 1945, when Emperor Showa declared Japan's surrender in World War II, inside a bunker facility that also served as her home at the time. She listened to the emperor's announcement of the defeat on the radio.
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