Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko appeared to be emotionally affected at the screening on Friday of a new film about a South Korean student who was killed by an oncoming train in 2001 as he tried to rescue a drunken stranger at a Tokyo station.At a preview in Tokyo on the sixth anniversary of the death of 26-year-old Lee Su Hyon, the imperial couple both seemed to be moved as the film reached its finale where the main character is killed.

Lee’s parents also attended the screening.

“Anata wo Wasurenai” (We Will Not Forget You), the latest Japan-South Korean film collaboration which will premier across Japan on Saturday, depicts a young South Korean man and his love for a Japanese girl in Tokyo and is interlaced with the complex feelings South Koreans have about Japan, their former colonial occupier.

Empress Michiko has a personal involvement in the real story. In November 2001, she happened to meet with Lee’s parents at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo while they were on a tour.

The empress held their hands and offered her condolences at that time. “I am sorry this has happened,” she reportedly said.Lee’s parents had come to Japan to attend a memorial ceremony for police officers and others who had lost their lives on the job.

Director Junji Hanado chatted with the emperor and empress after Friday’s preview. The couple said they hope the movie would serve as a bridge between the two countries