Japan's Akihito pushed imperial boundaries to reach out to Asia


TOKYO (Reuters) - When Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko stood, heads bowed, at a seaside cliff on Saipan 60 years after a bloody World War Two battle, their silent prayers conveyed a message many felt resonated louder than words.

On that June 2005 visit - one of many war-related trips during Akihito's three-decade reign - the royal couple paid their respects at memorials not only for Japanese but also American and Korean war dead.

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