天皇皇后両陛下 サイパン島ご訪問ご出発にあたっての天皇陛下のおことば（英文）

In this sixtieth year after the end of the war, we are visiting Saipan.

After World War I, Saipan became a trust territory of Japan under the League of Nations, and many Japanese people, including people from Okinawa, immigrated to the Island. Joining hands with the local islanders, these Japanese immigrants engaged in such enterprises as sugar cane production and sugar manufacturing and followed the path of development towards prosperous livelihoods. But the war greatly changed the profile of this peaceful island. On June 15, 1944, U.S. Forces landed and a battle with isolated Japanese Forces continued for over twenty days. Sixty-one years ago today, a fierce battle was still being fought on this island. Our hearts ache when we think of those people who fought at a place where there was no food, no water and no medical treatment for the wounded. The total Japanese death toll amounted to 55,000, and among those numbers were 12,000 civilians including children. At the same time, we must never forget that in this battle, nearly 3,500 U.S. soldiers died, and over 900 Islanders, including helpless infants, became victims of this combat.

Ten years ago, during the fiftieth year after the end of the war, we toured memorial sites in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa to pray. These locations suffered particularly large-scale calamities during the war, and as we mourned and paid tribute to the war dead, our thoughts were with the bereaved families who have spent their lives with unending sorrow. In the year prior to that, we had visited Ogasawara and mourned for those who died after the fierce battle on Iwo-Jima.

This time on soil beyond our shores, we will once again mourn and pay tribute to all those who lost their lives in the war, and we will remember the difficult path the bereaved families had to follow, and we wish to pray for world peace.

It is our hope that as we walk onwards, all of us always keep in mind that our country today is founded on the sacrifices of these many people.

Finally, we would like to express our deep gratitude to the Prime Minister and all those in Japan who made efforts for this visit, as well as the people of the United States and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands who have worked hard to receive our visit.