Emperor, empress mourn war dead on Palau's Peleliu isle

""About 10,000 Japanese defenders died fighting"

It's too bad they didn't surrender, they could have all lived."

Serrano - The japanese were following the traditional model of war which is you give the invaders hell to force a stalemate. They didn't know the US was ready to go all nuclear. Nukes changed the rules, you can fight and fight but if the enemy is willing to raise the entire land and you can't do anything then its better to surrender.

If we didn't have nukes japan would have been able to make a conditional surrender to russia.

Many people here an Europe still have allot of respect for "royal's" even though there control has diminished it was a good gesture for them to pay their respect's to all the combatant's. I appreciated they also visited the US memorial.

About 10,000 Japanese defenders died fighting in the name of Akihito’s father, Emperor Hirohito,

Should read "About 10,000 Japanese 'occupiers' died fighting in the name of Akihito's father, Emperor Hirohito."

Akihito, 81, has often urged Japan not to forget the suffering of the war, comments that have attracted fresh attention at a time when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears to be pushing for a less apologetic tone towards Japan’s past.

Three cheers to Akihito. I have always admired and respected him as a man, even if I think the position of Emperor has lost its relevance. If the son of the man who so many millions of people died/suffered "in the name of" can see the big picture and want to let it all go, why can't Abe?

It's easy for the Japanese to send someone they 'believe' is not responsible for these WWII commemoration visits. Not the PM, not the minister in charge of war graves, but the Emperor who I think has complicated sentiments stirring over Emperor Showa, his late father's role in the War.

@SamuraiBlue

Ahh you were there then? Tell us about it... Anyway, I love the country of Palau and its people. I was fortunate to visit there once. My wife's relatives lived there (Japanese) and loved it there too (possibly more than their original country of Japan). Some words in Palauan are borrowed from Japanese such as "sensei".

It's a shame they don't visit Papua New Guinea, Singapore or Indonesia. They seem to limit themselves to places close to Japan.

"About 10,000 Japanese defenders died fighting"

It's too bad they didn't surrender, they could have all lived.

Bravo. I'd love to see Akihito make a very pointed and unambiguous comment about Japan's responsibility to view the horrors of World War 2 with honesty and transparency. The Royal Family seem to be a group of people who are circumspect and realistic about Japan's role in the war and their voice is important in contemporary Japan.