Japanese Emperor Naruhito met with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh on Tuesday in Ulaanbaatar, underscoring a shared interest in deepening ties between the two democracies in a region long shaped by Russian and Chinese influence.

The meeting followed a formal welcoming ceremony in the Mongolian capital on the second day of Naruhito’s weeklong visit — a significant gesture that marks Japan’s growing engagement with the landlocked nation of 3.5 million. Tokyo has prioritized boosting trade with Mongolia, which exports much of its rich resources of coal, copper, and other minerals to China.

Later in the day, Emperor Naruhito is scheduled to lay flowers at a cenotaph honoring the thousands of Japanese prisoners of war who were held under harsh conditions in Mongolia during and after World War II. The visit coincides with the 80th anniversary of the war’s end.

Historians note that one of the earliest clashes of the global conflict occurred in the summer of 1939 along the Mongolian frontier, where Soviet forces repelled an incursion by Japanese troops in a decisive defeat for Japan.

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In recent years, Naruhito has made a point of visiting sites associated with some of the most devastating battles and bombings of World War II, including Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Hiroshima. These journeys, he has said, are part of an effort to reflect on the tragedies of war fought in the name of his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito.

While the majority of Japanese prisoners of war were sent to Siberia, between 12,000 and 14,000 were detained in Mongolia, which had joined the Soviet Union in its war against Japan by the end of World War II.

Following the war, Mongolia remained a tightly controlled Soviet ally, effectively functioning as a militarized buffer state aimed at China. Most of the population continued their traditional nomadic herding lifestyle during this period.

Since the collapse of Communist rule in 1989, Mongolia has established a resilient democracy and worked to balance political and economic pressure from neighboring powers with strategic partnerships, including strong ties with the United States, Japan, and South Korea.