Overview

• The Imperial couple entered the Nasu Imperial Villa in Tochigi on Aug. 26 for about a week of rest and held a private conversation that evening.
• They invited former Iwo Jima residents Atsuko Watanabe, 95, and Yai Hara, 94, who now live in Nasu, with their relatives present.
• The Emperor told them, “You went through a painful time,” and the Empress said, “I’m glad you are safe,” with the Empress also calling their experience tragic.
• The meeting lasted about 50 minutes as the guests described wartime air raids on the island and postwar settlement work in Nasu.
• Civilians were forcibly evacuated from Iwo Jima in 1944, leaving about 100 as military auxiliaries, and the battle later claimed roughly 22,000 Japanese and 6,800 U.S. lives, context that shaped the couple’s wish to meet after their April memorial visit.