Davao City
January 13, 2017

Madame Akie Abe, spouse of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, paid her respects to the Japanese people buried at the historic Mintal Cemetery in Davao City.

She was accompanied by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s common-law wife, Mrs. Cielito ‘Honeylet’ Avanceña, during the visit to the Japanese Memorial Shrine Cemetery.

Madame Abe offered a wreath at the monument called ‘Zairyu Senbou Douhou Irei Tou’ and proceeded to a memorial named ‘Ureinashi Ni Ho’, which was built by President Duterte when he was still mayor of Davao City.

The Mintal Cemetery is a public burial ground intended for the Japanese people when they first established it in 1910. During that period, Japanese migrants populated the town of Davao.

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