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Dignitaries arrive for imperial visit
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Posted on Jun 24 2005
Dignitaries have already begun arriving on the island for the June 27 and 28 visit of Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Saipan to honor and pray for the war dead in the Battle of Saipan 61 years ago.
Expected to arrive last night was deputy assistant secretary for insular affairs David Cohen, according to governor press secretary Peter A. Callaghan.
Tonight, the Japanese ambassador to the U.S. Ryozo Kato is scheduled to arrive to participate in the imperial visit.
His counterpart, U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Thomas Schieffer is said to arrive Sunday night.
Earlier, Gov. Juan N. Babauta said that Shieffer and his wife would travel to Saipan for the imperial visit.
Shieffer would be the highest-ranking U.S. government official to take part in the memorial visit.
A former U.S. ambassador to Australia, Shieffer is reportedly a close friend of President Bush.
A native of Texas, the ambassador was a politician, a corporate lawyer, and a businessman prior to his diplomatic assignment.
The imperial couple will arrive Monday afternoon and leave on the afternoon of Tuesday.
They will visit different historical sites on island including Banzai Cliff, Suicide Cliff, Last Command Post, and American Memorial Park.
They are also expected to meet with the island’s elderly at the Man’amko Center on Tuesday.
Their visit also marks the 60th year of the end of World War II.
The imperial couple has reportedly long expressed a strong desire to visit Saipan, the site of fierce fighting between Japanese and U.S. forces during the war.
