AMSTERDAM - Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Wednesday attended a welcome ceremony at Dam Square in Amsterdam and paid their respects at a war memorial.
The ceremony began at around 10 a.m. The couple, alongside King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, were welcomed by the Dutch and Japanese national anthems and received a guard of honor.
The emperor and empress briefly returned to the Royal Palace in Amsterdam before visiting the National Monument with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten to lay wreaths and observe 90 seconds of silence before an audience of hundreds.
The invasion of the then-Dutch colony of Indonesia by the imperial Japanese military led to the internment of around 40,000 Dutch soldiers and about 90,000 locals. It caused mass casualties, and anti-Japanese sentiment remained strong after the war.
Prior to the visit, the emperor said he wished to extend his thoughts to people in the Netherlands who are still suffering from the memories of that time. His father and mother, former Emperor Akihito and former Empress Michiko, also laid flowers at the war memorial during their official visit in 2000.
Students from the local Japanese school also greeted the couple in front of the palace, waving Dutch and Japanese flags. The emperor thanked the children for coming before posing for a group photo.
The imperial couple stayed at a royal residence in the central Dutch city of Apeldoorn from their arrival on Saturday before moving to the Royal Palace on Tuesday.
