Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are set to visit the Netherlands and Belgium on a trip lasting two weeks. The Imperial couple will depart from Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Saturday.
The Japanese Imperial family has long enjoyed close ties with both the Dutch and Belgian royal families. The Emperor and Empress are due to attend welcome ceremonies and royal banquets in the two countries.
They plan to lay flowers at a war memorial in Amsterdam on June 17.
Japan and the Netherlands fought during World War Two in Indonesia, which was then a Dutch colony. Citizens and Dutch soldiers were held captive by the now-defunct Imperial Japanese military. Many lost their lives through forced labor.
Emperor Naruhito told reporters on Thursday that he hopes to extend his thoughts to people who still carry pain from the wartime experience, especially in the Netherlands.
He said he believes it is important to foster a peace-loving spirit by humbly learning from the past and deepening an understanding of history.