Emperor, Empress Console Internees’ Souls in Mongolia; About 1,700 Japanese Died There After World War II

By Takaya Toda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

16:14 JST, July 9, 2025

ULAANBAATAR — The Emperor and Empress offered flowers Tuesday at a cenotaph in the suburbs of Ulaanbaatar for the Japanese nationals who died in Mongolia during postwar internment.

This is the first time for a reigning Japanese emperor or empress to offer comfort to Japanese souls at a place of internment in Mongolia or the former Soviet Union.

The Emperor and Empress placed a white wreath at the cenotaph and bowed deeply for about a minute in the pouring rain. When the rain stopped, they closed their umbrellas and bowed silently for another 10 seconds. Afterwards, they met with families of internees who had visited from Japan.

After the war, about 14,000 Japanese were interned in Mongolia and forced to engage in the construction of the capital and other labor. About 1,700 died of infectious diseases and other causes. This is the second time for the Emperor to comfort the souls in Mongolia — he also did so in 2007, when he was crown prince. This is the first time for the Empress to do so.

On Tuesday evening, they attended a banquet hosted by the Mongolian president and his wife at a hotel in the city.

In his speech, the Emperor said that he “will never forget” the support from Mongolia after the Great East Japan Earthquake and other major disasters, and that the foundation for the development of friendship and cooperation between Japan and Mongolia was “the exchanges between past citizens of the two countries.”

He then said, “I hope that the younger generation will carry on the steps taken by their predecessors, and that the seeds of cooperation will blossom into many flowers.”

At the dinner, the Emperor played two songs on the viola, including “Hamabe no Uta” (Song of the beach), with a local orchestra.