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Japanese Emperor
Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Saipan on the 27th and
28th of June, their visit the first overseas trip to honor the
war's dead.
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Japan's Empress Michiko and Emperor Akihito pause
at the entrance of the Marianas Memorial on Saipan on
June 28, 2005 before the laying of a wreath in memory of
Chamorros and Carolinians who died in the battle between
Japan and the United States at the end of World War
II.
Photo by Rlene Steffy Independent Photo
Journalist -
Guam |
Saipan is the capital
of the Northern Marianas, now a commonwealth of the United
States. It was the site of fierce battle between Japan and the
United States during the end of World War II.
A majority of the
residents were Japanese nationals during the mid 40s,
after colonizing the island some
30 years before the war. The
nationality of the people was as diverse as the languages they
spoke, many of them bilingual even to this day.
Some residents were
trilingual, and fewer still were able to speak multiple
languages which included, Chamorro, Carolinian, English,
German, Filipino and Korean. The dominant language by the
1900s was of course, Japanese.
Today, the official
language of Saipan are English, Chamorro and Carolinian
although the visit of the Emperor proved that the senior
citizens still speak Japanese.
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| Emperor Akihito listens as a senior
citizen - man'amko, in Saipan speaks
to him in Japanese, while another man'amko
wipes tears from her eyes, moved by the experience of
meeting the Emperor of Japan. Many World War II
survivors prayed to the late Emperor Hirohito, when
young children during the war. Many more died in his
name.
Photo by Rlene Steffy
Independent Photo Journalist -
Guam |
Japan colonized the islands of
Micronesia after declaring war on Germany in 1914 and in
the early 1920s established
the sugar cane industry in Saipan. Saipan's economy was strong
and induced residents of Guam and other areas of Micronesia to
move there and share in the prosperity. The people of Saipan
were more affluent in many respects, than their neighbors to
the south.
After the war, Saipan
along with the islands of Micronesia became a Trust Territory
of the Pacific Islands administered by the Department of
Interior.
Numerous sources and
news reports have stated that an estimated 55,000 Japanese,
43,000 Imperial Japanese Army soldiers and 12,000 civilians
died in the battle that started on June 15 and ended on July
9, 1944. About 3,500 - 5,000 U.S. soldiers and 900 islanders
perished in the battle.
The battle was pivotal
in the victory of the war, with the United States desiring
nearby Tinian as an airbase for their B29 bombers that dropped
the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan.
On August 6, 1945, an
atom bomb exploded over Hiroshima, Japan. In one flash, the
city was devastated, and some 80,000 people lost their lives.
Three days later another atom bomb destroyed the city of
Nagasaki, killing about 73,000 people.
"The
Final Mission" by
WWII veteran Jim Smith, the radioman on the B29 Bomber
nicknamed BOOMERANG, speaks of the mission that foiled
the coup by the Japanese Imperial Palace Guards who attempted
to kidnap the Emperor and prevent him from announcement of
Japan's surrender to the United States. the bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not prompt a quick surrender by the
Japanese.
"Six days after
Nagasaki August 9th, a military rebellion exploded
in the Imperial Palace. Samuel Eliot Morison the world
respected on-the-scene historian said it was a very near
thing: “That night a military plot to seize the Emperor and
impound his recording of the Imperial Rescript (which was to
be broadcast the 15th) was narrowly averted.
Attempts were made to assassinate Prime Minister Suzuki and
others. But the Emperor’s message to his people went out in
the morning… If these elements had had their way, the war
would have been resumed with the Allies feeling that the
Japanese were hopelessly treacherous, and with a savagery that
is painful to contemplate.”
It was the
incredible timing of a Tokyo blackout by the
315th Bomb Wing based at Northwest Field, Guam that
threw the coup off track—the 315th went on to
destroy Japan’s largest remaining oil refinery. The
315th Bomb Wing closed down W.W. II once and for
all! --August 15--
Author/Eyewitness Jim B. Smith
Now 71-years-old, Emperor Akihito is the son of the late
Emperor Hirohito whose name many fought and died and leaped to
their death at Bonzai and Suicide Cliffs in Saipan and Tinian
in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands.
The Royal Couple's
two-day visit was filled with events that paid honor to the
World War II dead and in a gesture of reconciliation, the
Royal Couple made an unprecedented stop to a Korean dead
memorial during their Secret Service secured and planned visit
to Saipan.
The emperor's action
was received well by Koreans who live on Saipan and whom were
planning a public protest of the Royal Couple's visit. They
were persuaded by the Roman Catholic Church to cancel their
plans.
Emperor Akihito did not make
any public address while on Saipan, but he did speak to the
man'amko at the senior citizen's center there. Prior to his
departure from Japan, Emperor Akihito made the following
remarks to the Japanese
people.
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The following
remarks of the Emperor of Japan
was provided by
Governor Juan N. Babauta's Press Secretary,
Peter A.
Callaghan and scanned into a Rich text format
below.
Remarks by H.M. The Emperor At his
Departure for Saipan June 27.2005
(Provisional
Translation)
In
this sixtieth year after the end of the war, we are
visiting Saipan.
After
World War I, Saipan became a trust territory of Japan
under the League of Nations, and many Japanese people,
including people from Okinawa, immigrated to the Island.
Joining hands with the local islanders, these Japanese
immigrants engaged in such enterprises as sugar cane
production
and sugar manufacturing and followed the path of
development towards prosperous livelihoods. But the war
greatly changed the profile of this peaceful island. On
June 15, 1944, U.S. Forces landed and a battle with
isolated Japanese Forces continued for over twenty days.
Sixty-one years ago today, a fierce battle was still
being fought on this island. Our hearts ache when we
think of those people who fought at a place where there
was no food, no water and no medical treatment for the
wounded. The total Japanese death toll amounted to
55,000, and among those numbers were 12,000 civilians
including children. At the same time, we must never
forget that in this battle, nearly 3,500 U.S. soldiers
died, and over 900 Islanders, including helpless
infants, became victims of this combat.
Ten
years ago, during the fiftieth year after the end of the
war, we toured memorial sites in Tokyo, Hiroshima,
Nagasaki and Okinawa to pray. These locations suffered
particularly large-scale calamities during the war, and
as we mourned and paid tribute to the war dead, our
thoughts were with the bereaved families who have spent
their lives with unending sorrow. In the year prior to
that, we had visited Ogasawara and mourned for those who
died after the fierce battle on Iwo-Jima.
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This
time on soil beyond our shores, we will once again mourn
and pay tribute to all those who lost their lives in the
war, and we will remember the difficult path the
bereaved families had to follow, and we wish to pray
for
world
peace.
It
is our hope that as we walk onwards, all of us always
keep in mind that our country today is founded on the
sacrifices of these many people.
Finally,
we would like to express our deep gratitude to the Prime
Minister and all those in Japan who made efforts for
this visit, as well as the people of the United States
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands who
have worked hard to receive our visit.
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