IWO JIMA: Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Monday made a rare visit to the tiny Pacific island of Iwo Jima to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The Japanese island, around 1,250 kilometres south of Tokyo, was the scene of a five-week battle between wartime enemies Japan and the United States in 1945.

Nearly all of Japan’s 21,000 soldiers on the island were killed during the fight, while the US side saw more than 6,800 fatalities and 19,000 wounded.

The royal couple bowed deeply as they offered flowers and ritually poured water at a memorial for the war dead as rain fell on the island, which is known in Japan as Iwo-To.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the island together last month for a ceremony to mark 80 years since the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The battle inspired movies and books but is perhaps best associated with one of the most famous photos of World War II — showing a group of US Marines raising the American flag on the rubble-covered surface of Mount Suribachi.

Today the island is off-limits for civilians and decayed warship parts litter its brown beaches, while rust-covered abandoned tanks sit in lush greenery.

Efforts to find the remains of the war dead continue on the remote volcanic island, where a journalist said that a smell of sulphur permeates the air.

Naruhito’s parents, Emperor-emeritus Akihito and his wife Michiko, visited the island in 1994.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2025