Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako plan to face up to Japan’s wartime history on their visit to Indonesia, a country Japan occupied for more than three years until its defeat in World War II in August 1945.

But one aspect that isn't on the itinerary are the Indonesians who were mobilized as laborers during Japan's occupation

Naruhito will meet with descendants of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers who remained in Indonesia after the war and fought for the nation’s independence from the Netherlands on the evening of June 19.

He will visit Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in Jakarta the following day and offer flowers.

About 10,000 people whose service to the nation is recognized by the government, from politicians to military and civilian personnel, are buried there.

They include 28 Japanese soldiers who joined the war of independence between 1945 and 1949.

Prior to his departure, Naruhito said reflections on Japan’s occupation of Indonesia would be a focus of his first overseas goodwill trip since he ascended the throne in 2019.

“It’s important to remember those who died, to deepen our understanding of the past and to foster a love for peace among people,” he told a news conference on June 15.

About 1,000 Japanese soldiers remained in Indonesia for various reasons, and many participated in Indonesia’s war of independence, according to a group of their descendants.

Rima Koomatsu, a granddaughter of one such soldier, welcomes the visit by the imperial couple.

Koomatsu, a 34-year-old resident of Jakarta, said the history of Japanese soldiers who fought for Indonesia is little known.

She said she was once called a “granddaughter of an invader” by a friend.

“I hope that Japanese soldiers who lost their lives in Indonesia will not be forgotten,” she said.

The exact number of residents who were put to work as laborers under Japan's occupation is unknown. However, the Indonesian government once published an estimate that about 4 million were mobilized, according to an expert.

Rasih, who lives in Banten, a province west of Jakarta, said her husband, Sarjo, was taken from another province by the Japanese military when he was around 18 and put to work in a coal mine.

Rasih, 88, said her husband, who is deceased, told her that laborers received only a cupful of rice for a day’s work and many of them died of starvation.

Lise Nurlianti, a 42-year-old granddaughter of Sarjo, said she wants the imperial couple to meet with descendants of Indonesian laborers.

“It is a sad and painful history, but I want it to become widely known,” she said.

Naruhito is not scheduled to commemorate wartime Indonesian laborers or meet with their descendants during the visit.

Aiko Kurasawa, a professor emeritus at Keio University and expert on Indonesian history, said, “It would be more significant to pay tribute to Indonesian laborers who were half-compelled to work in addition to Japanese soldiers who remained in Indonesia.”

Under the postwar Constitution, the emperor does not “have powers related to the government.” He cannot make political statements or take political actions.

Still, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, Naruhito’s father, played a role in postwar reconciliation as the emperor of the Heisei Era (1989-2019).

When he visited China in 1992, Akihito for the first time included the word “reflection” in referring to the war.

“When the war ended, based on the deep reflection that we should never repeat such a war, our country became firmly determined to walk the way of a peaceful state and worked on rebuilding the nation,” he said in a speech.

Akihito also traveled both in Japan and abroad to console the souls of victims of the war.

He visited Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Okinawa in 1995, which marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, Saipan in 2005, Palau in 2015 and the Philippines in 2016.

Naruhito and Masako, both born after World War II, have heard stories about the war from Akihito and his wife, Empress Emerita Michiko.

“I would like to thoroughly inherit their strong desire for peace,” Naruhito has said.

Emperor Hirohito, Akihito’s father, visited recuperation homes for war victims and reception centers for repatriates in Japan, but he traveled abroad only twice due mainly to criticism about his responsibility for the war.

Apart from the history issue, the trip to Indonesia offers an opportunity for Naruhito to explore the emperor’s duties that respond to a changing society, a concept that he has underlined.

“It is increasingly important for people around the globe to share wisdom and work together to build a sustainable world,” he told a news conference in February, referring to flooding and drought caused by climate change as well as earthquakes.

Naruhito, known for his research on a wide range of issues related to water, such as disaster control, inspected the Pluit water pump station in Jakarta on June 18.

The rainwater drainage system designed to prevent flooding, part of which fell into dysfunction due to aging facilities, was repaired with grants from Japan between 2012 and 2014.

He also visited a rail yard of the mass rapid transit system in the Indonesian capital, another project that received assistance from Japan, on the same day.

In addition, Naruhito will inspect on June 21 a sand erosion control technology facility in Yogyakarta, which was established in the volcanic country with Japan’s assistance.

(This article was written by Akiko Tada and Naoko Handa, a correspondent in Jakarta. Staff reporter Rizki Akbar Hasan contributed to this story.)