Young Crown Prince Akihito and bride Michiko visit the PHL in 1962

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan are in the country for a State Visit, their first to the country in more than 50 years.

The first time they visited the Philippines, it was 1962 and they were still the Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko. They were 28 and 27, and had only been married three years.

Just like their visit now, their first trip to the country was a five-day visit—from November 5 to 10, 1962—and it was similarly historic. It had been the first time an heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne had visited the Philippines. In his return to the country 54 years later, now-Emperor Akihito's visit marks the first time the Philippines is visited by an Emperor of Japan.

Just 17 years earlier, World War II had ended; according to the Emperor's press secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima, the young Imperial couple had been very nervous about coming to Manila. They were pleasantly surprised to be welcomed with warmth by President Diosdado Macapagal and the rest of the Filipino people. Takashima says that the pair remember the trip fondly.

Take a quick look at the young Imperial Couple's first visit in the Philippines. Most of these photos were published in the Manila Bulletin in 1962 and uploaded by the Presidential Museum and Library.

— AT/BM, GMA News