Japan's royal couple mourn A-bomb victims ahead of Hiroshima's 80th anniversary

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TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito paid respects to atomic bombing victims in Hiroshima as the city marks the 80th anniversary of the tragedy later this year.

Naruhito, accompanied by his wife, Empress Masako, bowed deeply at the cenotaph for the atomic bombing victims and offered bouquets of white flowers.

The atomic bomb dropped by the United States on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroyed the city, killing 140,000 people. A second bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century aggression in Asia.

Naruhito has repeatedly stressed the importance to remember and keep telling the tragedy of the war to younger generations.

Naruhito and Masako were also to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to observe exhibits, including those featuring Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots organization awarded last year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

The couple were to meet atomic bombing survivors, or hibakusha, and those born after the war and trained to tell the stories on behalf of those who can no longer do so.

Naruhito is making his third trip to mourn the war dead this year.

In April, the couple visited Iwo Jima to pay tribute to about 20,000 Japanese and nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines killed in the Battle of Iwo Jima, fought from Feb. 19 to March 26, 1945.

Earlier this month, Naruhito also visited Okinawa to mourn about 188,000 Japanese, half of them Okinawan civilians, and about 12,000 Americans, killed in the Battle of Okinawa. Naruhito accompanied his daughter, Princess Aiko, underscoring his wish that she would learn the hardships of the Okinawan people and share their stories with younger generations.