(2 Jun 2002)
1. Korean Airliner on tarmac
2. Arrival of Prince Takamado and Princess Hisako of Japan
3. Japanese royal couple waving
4. Soldiers marching into position at Seoul's National Cemetery
5. South Korean and Japanese flags
6. Wide shot Japanese royal couple arriving at Seoul's National Cemetery
7. Mid shot royal couple
8. Various of wreath laying ceremony
9. Prince laying incense and paying tribute to war dead
10. Mid shot graves of Korean soldiers
11. Wide shot graves of Korean soldiers
STORYLINE:
Japan's Prince Takamado and his wife Princess Hisako arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for a historic six-day visit, two days before the kick off of the jointly hosted World Cup tournament.
Members of Japan's imperial family paid unofficial visits to South Korea in 1970 and1989 to attend the funerals of former Korean royals. They also attended a goodwill photography exhibition in 1990.
But Wednesday's was the first official visit by Japanese royalty since the end of World War II.
The royal couple's first stop on Wednesday was South Korea's National Cemetery where soldiers who died in the Korean War - along with other patriotic figures - are buried.
The Prince and Princess paid tribute to Korea's war dead and laid a wreath in their memory- a gesture that would have once been unimaginable: from 1910-1945 Japan colonized the Korean peninsula in the name of the Emperor Akihito, a cousin of Prince Takamado.
But in a gesture of reconciliation, the South Korean government invited the Prince - who serves as the honorary president of Japan's Football Association - to further improve relations between the two countries on the eve of the World Cup.
The royal couple will attend the World Cup's opening ceremony on Friday and are scheduled to watch two more World Cup matches before returning home on June 3rd.
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