Latest news with #JapanMongoliaRelations
France 24
09-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Japan imperial couple visit WWII memorial, hail 'deep friendship' in Mongolia
Japan and Mongolia have drawn closer in recent years, with aid from Tokyo helping to spur economic development in the vast, sparsely populated country. Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, are on an eight-day state visit to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, during which Japan waged conflict across East Asia. Japan did not invade Mongolia -- then a client state of the Soviet Union -- during its expansion into continental Asia during World War II. But Moscow transferred thousands of Japanese prisoners of war to Mongolia after the end of the conflict, where around 1,700 are believed to have died while labouring on infrastructure projects. On Tuesday, the couple laid flowers and held a minute's silence at a Tokyo-funded memorial at the site of a former cemetery for deceased prisoners of war in Dambadarjaa, near the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. At a banquet hosted by Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, Naruhito hailed the two countries' "deep friendship and cooperation". "I hope the younger generation... will inherit the path of their predecessors and let blossom the many seeds of cooperation planted in this wide land," the emperor said. He also teamed up with the Mongolian State Morin Khuur Symphony Orchestra to perform two songs on his viola. The imperial couple are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of Mongolia's biggest annual festival, Naadam, on Friday ahead of their departure on Sunday. Also on Tuesday, they attended a welcome ceremony in Ulaanbaatar and reviewed a Mongolian honour guard. Naruhito told reporters last week he hoped the visit would help to "invigorate exchanges further, particularly among the younger generation". Tokyo's military legacy continues to colour its ties with other regional neighbours, particularly China and the Koreas. The imperial couple have made several domestic trips this year to commemorate the war dead, including to Hiroshima, Okinawa and Iwo Jima. Beijing said last month it would hold a grand military parade in September to mark the 80th anniversary of what it officially calls the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Japan's emperor meets Mongolian president in joining of Asian democracies
Japan's Emperor Naruhito met with Mongolia's president Tuesday during a visit to the landlocked Asian nation that marks a step toward closer relations between the two democracies in a region dominated by authoritarian Russia and China.
Al Arabiya
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Japanese Emperor Naruhito Meets Mongolian President To Boost Ties
Japan's Emperor Naruhito met with Mongolia's president Tuesday during a visit to the landlocked Asian nation that marks a step toward closer relations between the democracies in a region dominated by Russia and China. Naruhito met with President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh following a welcoming ceremony in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, on the second day of a weeklong visit. Japan has made a priority of boosting trade with the sprawling nation of 3.5 million whose resources of coal, copper, and other minerals are largely exported to China. In the afternoon, he planned to lay flowers at a cenotaph in honor of thousands of Japanese prisoners of World War II who were held under harsh conditions in the country. Naruhito's visit marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. Some historians say one of the first battles of the war was a clash in the summer of 1939 between invading Japanese troops and Soviet forces on the Mongolian frontier, in which the Japanese were badly defeated. In recent years, Naruhito has toured some of the places where the bloodiest battles and bombings of World War II occurred, including Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Hiroshima. The emperor has said it's part of his effort at atonement and remembrance of the tragedy of war fought in the name of his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito. While the vast majority of Japanese prisoners of war were taken to Siberia, around 12,000 to 14,000 ended up in Mongolia, which by war's end was fighting alongside the Russians against Japan. For decades after the war, Mongolia was virtually a Soviet armed camp trained at China, with most of its people pursuing their traditional herding lifestyle. Since throwing off communist rule in 1989, Mongolia has built a resilient democracy, seeking to balance economic and political pressures from Beijing and Moscow with strong support from the US and its allies in Asia, including Japan and South Korea.
Washington Post
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Japanese Emperor Naruhito meets Mongolian president to boost ties
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Japan's Emperor Naruhito met with Mongolia's president Tuesday during a visit to the landlocked Asian nation that marks a step toward closer relations between the democracies in a region dominated by Russia and China. Naruhito met with President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh following a welcoming ceremony in the capital Ulaanbaatar on the second day of a weeklong visit. Japan has made a priority of boosting trade with the sprawling nation of 3.5 million, whose resources of coal, copper and other minerals are largely exported to China. In the afternoon, he plans to lay flowers at a cenotaph in honor of thousands of Japanese prisoners of World War II who were held under harsh conditions in the country. Naruhito's visit marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. Some historians say one of the first battles of the war was a clash in the summer of 1939 between invading Japanese troops and Soviet forces on the Mongolian frontier in which the Japanese were badly defeated. In recent years, Naruhito has toured some of the places where the bloodiest battles and bombings of World War II occurred, including Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima. The emperor has said it's part of his effort at atonement and remembrance of the tragedy of war fought in the name of his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito. While the vast majority of Japanese prisoners of war were taken to Siberia, around 12,000 to 14,000 ended up in Mongolia, which by war's end was fighting alongside the Russians against Japan. For decades after the war, Mongolia was virtually a Soviet armed camp trained at China, with most of its people pursuing their traditional herding lifestyle. Since throwing off Communist rule in 1989, Mongolia has built a resilient democracy, seeking to balance economic and political pressures from Beijing and Moscow with strong support from the U.S. and its allies in Asia, including Japan and South Korea.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Japanese Emperor Naruhito meets Mongolian president to boost ties
Japan's Emperor Naruhito met with Mongolia's president Tuesday during a visit to the landlocked Asian nation that marks a step toward closer relations between the democracies in a region dominated by Russia and China. Naruhito met with President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh following a welcoming ceremony in the capital Ulaanbaatar on the second day of a weeklong visit. Japan has made a priority of boosting trade with the sprawling nation of 3.5 million, whose resources of coal, copper and other minerals are largely exported to China. In the afternoon, he plans to lay flowers at a cenotaph in honor of thousands of Japanese prisoners of World War II who were held under harsh conditions in the country. Naruhito's visit marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. Some historians say one of the first battles of the war was a clash in the summer of 1939 between invading Japanese troops and Soviet forces on the Mongolian frontier in which the Japanese were badly defeated. In recent years, Naruhito has toured some of the places where the bloodiest battles and bombings of World War II occurred, including Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima. The emperor has said it's part of his effort at atonement and remembrance of the tragedy of war fought in the name of his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito. While the vast majority of Japanese prisoners of war were taken to Siberia, around 12,000 to 14,000 ended up in Mongolia, which by war's end was fighting alongside the Russians against Japan. For decades after the war, Mongolia was virtually a Soviet armed camp trained at China, with most of its people pursuing their traditional herding lifestyle. Since throwing off Communist rule in 1989, Mongolia has built a resilient democracy, seeking to balance economic and political pressures from Beijing and Moscow with strong support from the U.S. and its allies in Asia, including Japan and South Korea.
