I am pleased to announce that Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress will visit the Republic of Palau to mourn and pay tribute to those who died in the war in this 70th year after the end of the war.
 
10 years ago, Their Majesties visited Saipan Island to mourn and pay tribute to those who died in the war and to pray for peace in the 60th year after the war. On this historic year of the passing of seventy years since the end of the war, the Government of Japan has advised Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress to pay a visit to the Republic of Palau, one of the main battlefields of the previous war, and where the Government of Japan has erected the Monument of the War Dead in the Western Pacific as one of the main overseas memorials, for the same purpose.
 
The Government of the Republic of Palau has long extended its invitation for Their Majesties to visit the Republic of Palau, and President Remengesau reiterated the invitation directly to Their Majesties when he visited Japan last December.
 
Their Majesties have long expressed the intent to mourn for those who died in the previous war, not to forget the sorrow of the bereaved families, and to continue to wish for world peace. I am extremely grateful for Their Majesties’ thoughts.
 
I am convinced that, through the visit, the cordial cooperative relations with the Republic of Palau, where many Japanese descents live and deep historical and cultural ties with Japan exist, will be further strengthened.
 
I would like to express my wholehearted wish for Their Majesties’ safe journey and return home.