emperor akihito and empress michiko began their first visit to palau on wednesday. a banquet that was hosted by the country's president, tommy

nhk world's akihito yohada has more. >> reporter: the exhibition opened on thursday at the istanbul museum. about 200 people attended the opening ceremony. this man is a turkish nautical archaeologist. he's been the driving force in making this exhibition a reality. >> i'm happy there was a good representation of some of our japanese friends as well as from navy and from turkish people. >> reporter: in 1889, the frigate set sail from constantinople, now istanbul, to japan. a delegation from the ottoman empire was involved. the goodwill visit was a success. on the return voyage, the frigate sank in a typhoon off the coast of western japan. out of more than 600 crew members only about 70 survived. they were rescued by residents of oshama nearby village. local people erected a memorial to the victims and still hold regular ceremonies to honor their memory. they have been working with japanese divers for over ten years to salvage pieces from the wreck site. they recovered more than 8,000 artifacts. for the first time since the fateful incident, these items retrieved from the sea bed in japan a

. >> reporter: emperor akihito and empress visited the island of palau. they paid their respects at the memorial of war dead. they placed a bouquet of white chrysanthemums brought from japan to those who lost their lives. peleiliu is one of a string of islands. the kun are country was under japan's control for about 30 years until the end of the war. u.s. forces attacked peleliu in september 1944. the island was home to a strategic air field. u.s. and japanese troops fought for control of the island for more than two months. the battle of pelau claimed the lives of about 10,000 japanese personnel, more than 1,000 americans died. only 34 japanese survived. visiting palau has been a wish of the imperial couple for many years. they've made a trip to mourn for those who sacrificed their lives and to spread a message of peace. the presidents and first lady of palau also paid their respects. the countries became battlefields during the war. relatives of japanese who died on palau and former military personnel gathered at the memorial. this is one of just 34 who

emperor akihito and empress michiko touched down at palau international airport. they met the president and his wife. the couples enjoyed a welcoming ceremony and chatted in the vip room at the airport. the imperial couple's schedule includes a visit to a coral reef research center built with japan's assistance in palau's largest town. and they'll attend a banquet in their honor. with the presidents and first ladies of micronesia and the marshall islands. the emperor and empress will also visit peleliu island the site of a fierce battle. more than 10,000 japanese soldiers and 1700 u.s. troops died in the fighting. the imperial couple will pay their respects at a memorial. palau was under japanese control for about 30 years after the first world war. >>> the defense chiefs of japan and the u.s. have sat down for face-to-face talks on the two nation's security alliance. they've agreed to speed up a review of defense cooperation guidelines. and they've also found common ground on a number of separate issues. more from nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa. >> reporter: as a

emperor akihito and empress michiko began their first visit to palau on wednesday.hey attended a banquet that was hosted by the country's president, tommy remenghesau, and his wife debbie. the presidents and first ladies of micronesia and the marshall islands were among the dignitaries. >>> the second day of their visit will take them to the world war ii battlefield on the island of peleliu. more than 10,000 japanese soldiers and u.s. soldiers died in that battle. they will also visit a memorial for u.s. troops. the couple will later immediate islanders, many of them of japanese descent, before returning home thursday night. >>> the defense chiefs of japan and u.s. sat down for face to face talks on the security alliance. they've agreed to speed up a review of defense cooperation guidelines and they've also found common ground on a number of issues. more from nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa. >> reporter: as a part of his first tour of asian countries since he took office in february, u.s. defense secretary ash carter decided to make japan his first stop. after attendi