Japan's emperor marks his 65th birthday with a call to keep telling the tragedy of WWII to the young

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Emperor Naruhito, marking his 65th birthday Sunday, stressed the importance of telling the tragedy of World War II to younger generations, pledging to contribute to efforts to promote the understanding of history and the determination for peace as the world this year observes the 80th anniversary of the war's end.

“As the memory of the war fades today, it is important that the tragic experiences and history are passed on to the generations who do not know the war,” Naruhito told a news conference in prerecorded comments released Sunday.

Those who went through the ordeals during and after the war grew have grown older and it is difficult for younger generations to hear their firsthand stories, Naruhito said.

Naruhito, accompanied by his wife, Empress Masako, their daughter Princess Aiko and some of his younger brother's family, waved from the palace balcony at the cheering well-wishers. Later Sunday, he was to celebrate his birthday at a palace banquet.

The war was fought in the name of his grandfather, then- Emperor Hirohito. Naruhito said he and Masako, who were born after the war, have learned from his parents by hearing their stories of wartime experiences and thoughts about peace. His father Akihito, who abdicated in 2019, was known for his devotion to making amends for the war, and Naruhito said he will follow his example.

His concern resonates especially with that of many survivors of U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945, who are worried about the lack of progress in nuclear disarmament and growing support for nuclear deterrence.

The survivors, or hibakusha, have said they hope the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to their organization, Nihon Hidankyo, for the decades-long nuclear disarmament effort would raise awareness of the younger generations.

This year, Naruhito and Masako are expected to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to pay tribute to those killed by the U.S. atomic bombings and Okinawa, the site of one of the harshest battles in the war.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito, third right, accompanied by Empress Masako, second right, their daughter Princess Aiko, right, Crown Prince Akishino, third left, Crown Princess Kiko, second left, and Princess Kako, left, waves to well-wishers from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on the emperor's 65th birthday, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese Emperor Naruhito, left, accompanied by Empress Masako, right, waves to well-wishers from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on his 65th birthday, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

Well-withers gather as Japanese Emperor Naruhito, unseen, accompanied by other royal family members, appears on the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on the emperor's 65th birthday, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese Emperor Naruhito, third right, accompanied by Empress Masako, second right, their daughter Princess Aiko, right, Crown Prince Akishino, Crown Princess Kiko, second left, and Princess Kako, waves to well-wishers from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on the emperor's 65th birthday, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese Emperor Naruhito, accompanied by Empress Masako, center, and their daughter Princess Aiko, waves to well-wishers from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on his 65th birthday, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

In this photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako pose for a photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, on Feb. 13, 2025, ahead of his 65th birthday on Sunday, Feb. 23. (Imperial Household Agency via AP)

In this photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako pose for a photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, on Feb. 13, 2025, ahead of his 65th birthday on Sunday, Feb. 23. (Imperial Household Agency via AP)

In this photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Emperor Naruhito poses for a photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, on Feb. 13, 2025, ahead of his 65th birthday on Sunday, Feb. 23. (Imperial Household Agency via AP)

In this photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako pose for a photo at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, on Feb. 13, 2025, ahead of his 65th birthday on Sunday, Feb. 23. (Imperial Household Agency via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)