Japanese Emperor Akihito (L) and Empress Michiko (R) enter a room to say goodbye to Crown Prince Naruhito and wellwishers, as they leave for Palau at the Tokyo International Airport on April 8, 2015. REUTERS/Yoshikazu Tsuno/Pool
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Emperor Akihito headed on Wednesday for the island nation of Palau where he will visit a World War Two battlefield, the latest journey in his efforts to soothe the wounds of a conflict that haunts Asia 70 years after its end.
Some 10,000 Japanese defenders, fighting in the name of Akihito's father, Emperor Hirohito, died in a two-month battle in 1944 on Palau's tiny Peleliu island along with about 1,600 American troops. Unaware Japan had surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, 34 Japanese soldiers hid in the jungle until April 1947.
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