Japan’s imperial couple makes history

Saipan took a brief turn in the global spotlight when the island received the Japanese imperial couple in late June 2005.

The historic visit by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko was marked by two firsts: it was the first ever journey outside Japan by a member of the imperial family to pray for the war dead and it was the first time the emperor had paid tribute at a monument specifically dedicated to Koreans killed in World War II.

The imperial couple arrived to a grand welcome on a damp Monday afternoon, June 27, 2005.

The Japanese delegation alone included about 140 media representatives and 120 people from the Japanese government headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Imperial Household Agency, and national police.

Federal officials and diplomats also came to the island for the emperor’s visit.

For two days, Akihito and Michiko visited war memorials and honored the thousands of lives lost in the Battle of Saipan, one of the fiercest combats during World War II.

The trip became especially memorable when the imperial couple made a brief, unscheduled stop at the Korean Peace Memorial following a tour of historic sites in Marpi.

The couple was not originally scheduled to stop at the Korean memorial. Some Koreans living on island, who had called on the Japanese leaders to acknowledge the Korean war dead, considered that omission a snub.

The local and foreign media covering the visit were just as surprised as the Koreans to find out about the unexpected turn of events. International wire agencies such as the Associated Press and Reuters, as well as various Japanese television networks and publications, all carried news about the history made that day on the island of Saipan.

Overall, the two-day visit went smoothly through the joint efforts of the federal, local, and Japanese government agencies. Working from the local side were people from the departments of Public Safety, Public Works, and Community and Cultural Affairs; Marianas Visitors Authority, Commonwealth Ports Authority; divisions of Customs and Immigration; Emergency Management Office, and the Governor’s Office.

The U.S. federal government sent people to the CNMI from the State Department, Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Transportation Security Administration.

The U.S. Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, members of Japan’s national police, and local law enforcement officers provided security.

For Saipan residents, the imperial couple’s trip provided a much-needed tourism boost by raising awareness of Japan and Saipan’s linked history.

“This is really an honor for all of us to have them visit the CNMI. This is certainly a historic visit, one that is going to attract attention through the media from Japan, local and the U.S. mainland. This is definitely going to put the CNMI on the map. We are grateful for that,” Gov. Juan N. Babauta said in an interview at the time.

Deputy Interior Assistant Secretary David Cohen, who heads the U.S. Office of Insular Affairs, echoed Babauta’s statement. He said: “Our No. 1 priority is to promote economic development. We think that with the emperor coming here and all the media attention it’s going to receive, people around the world are going to see pictures of a very beautiful island. We’re hoping that it’s going to stimulate interest in Japan and elsewhere in the world.”

A month after the visit, the Marianas Visitors Authority’s Japan office reported having received numerous inquiries about educational tours to the islands.

Pacific Development Inc., a major tour agency in the CNMI, has also said that many schools have become interested in bringing their students for an educational trip to the CNMI since the visit of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.