Princess Aiko Expresses Hope for Leftover Bombs to Disappear from Laos in Education Center Visit

By Takaya Toda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:55 JST, November 20, 2025

VIENTIANE — Princess Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress, visited on Wednesday the Cope Visitor Center, which educates visitors on the damage caused by unexploded ordnance left over from the Vietnam War.

During the Vietnam War, Laos was subjected to U.S. air strikes over serving as a supply route for North Vietnamese forces. About 270 million bombs were dropped between 1964 and 1973, with an estimated 80 million remaining as unexploded ordnance, or UXO. Laos is considered the world’s most heavily UXO contaminated country, with domestic casualties estimated at 50,000.

Princess Aiko viewed an exhibit of a cluster bomb that re-creates numerous submunitions exploding in midair and gazed intently at prosthetic limbs used by residents injured by UXO. She was said to have told the center’s staff after the tour, “I hope Laos will be free of UXO.”

Japan International Cooperation Agency expert Daisuke Sagiya welcomed Princess Aiko at the facility on that day.

Sagiya, 51, started supporting UXO Lao, the Lao government’s unexploded ordnance disposal agency, in June and has conducted visits to UXO clearance sites.

In mid-October, Sagiya witnessed the disposal of a fist-sized cluster bomb in Luang Prabang Province, northern Laos. He said he heard a loud boom and experienced the tension firsthand. “It served to remind me that the danger of UXO exists side-by-side with everyday life in Laos.”

Princess Aiko reportedly asked Sagiya, “What are the most challenging aspects of UXO clearance?”

“It takes time because they are removed one by one by hand,” he replied, to which the princess was said to have deeply nodded.

Sagiya said, “I would be happy if this opportunity helps spread awareness in Japan about the current situation of Laos, which is constantly exposed to invisible danger.”