Okinawa Prefecture was formerly the Ryukyu Kingdom. It was incorporated into Japan in 1879 under the Meiji government as the country's southernmost prefecture.
According to the Nago city office, the two French sailors died of illness during a port call by a French fleet in June 1846 for trade consultations with the Ryukyu Kingdom, which present-day Nago was a part of at the time.
The fleet personnel at the time had promised to return to the port one day to collect the sailors' remains, prompting local residents to look after the tombs.
Attending the ceremony at the tombs in the city's Untembaru area, known as the Oranda tombs, were the captain and crew of the 2,950-ton French destroyer Vendemiaire and French Ambassador Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, as well as Nago Mayor Tateo Kishimoto and other local representatives.
Addressing the participants in the ceremony, the ambassador said, "All people in France were heartened by the way the two sailors were carefully laid to rest. With this visit, we kept that promise."
Although the French delegation did not collect the sailors' remains, they laid flowers at the tombs.
The pair of tortoiseshell-shaped tombs, measuring 2 by 4 metres, were named after the Ryukyu word "uranda," meaning foreigners. The word uranda was later called oranda, instead.
About 300 elementary and junior high school students and local residents, waving French flags, greeted the French delegation.
During the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa in July, the French ambassador visited the tombs to express France's appreciation for the efforts taken to keep them in good shape.
(la/dpa)