(Photo: AP)

Japanese Emperor Akihito made a surprise visit on Tuesday to a Korean war dead memorial on the U.S. territory of Saipan Island.

In a gesture of reconciliation, Japanese Emperor Akihito made a surprise visit to a Korean war memorial on the U.S. territory of Saipan Island, where a decisive World War II battle was fought.

In the brief, unannounced visit, Akihito and Empress Michiko bowed deeply before the Korean Peace Memorial.

Akihito, on his first overseas trip to honor war dead, also bowed his head in silent prayer at two rocky heights where Japanese soldiers and civilians leapt to their deaths rather than surrender in shame.

The emperor's journey coincides with a chill in Japan's ties with China and South Korea, which are outraged over Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine.

The shrine honors convicted war criminals as well as Japan's war dead.

Japanese-controlled Saipan, considered vital to Japan's homeland defense, saw fierce fighting from June 15 to July 9, 1944.

More than 5,000 Americans died in the battles for Saipan and nearby Tinian and the naval Battle of the Philippine Sea, along with some 900 native islanders, including infants and elderly.

Some 43,000 Japanese soldiers and 12,000 Japanese civilians died in the intense fighting, according to Japanese figures.

Hundreds, including women and children, plunged from the two steep cliffs, now known as Banzai Cliff and Suicide Cliff, to avoid capture.