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Japan emperor's Mongolia visit sheds light on forgotten WWII detentions

Japan emperor's Mongolia visit sheds light on forgotten WWII detentions

Nikkei Asia13 hours ago
A Soviet Red Army solider peers over the edge of a Japanese fort at an unknown location in China on Aug. 23, 1945. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese were detained by the Soviets, and some of them were dispatched for forced labor in Mongolia. © AP
KENJI KAWASE
TOKYO -- Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will begin an official state visit to Mongolia on Sunday, casting a spotlight on the widely forgotten detention of thousands of Japanese soldiers and civilians in the last days of World War II.
A highlight of their eight-day stay is a scheduled pilgrimage to a cemetery for Japanese nationals who died after they were seized by the Soviet Union from Manchuria and other former Japanese territories.
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