THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 8, 2019 at 16:00 JST
The convertible that will carry Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako in the Shukuga-Onretsu-no-Gi parade is shown to the media on Oct. 7 at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. (Hiroyuki Yamamoto)
The luxury convertible that will carry Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako through the streets of Tokyo on Oct. 22 during the enthronement ceremony parade has been shown by the Imperial Household Agency.
It was rolled out for the media on Oct. 7.
The four-door sedan is a customized, third-generation Toyota Century model with the license plate Ko 10.
The Cabinet Office purchased the car in a contract that sets the maximum purchase price at 80 million yen ($745,000).
The convertible has an overall length of 5.34 meters and a width of 1.93 meters. The emperor's imperial standard will be hoisted on the hood of the vehicle on the day of the ceremony.
The luxury sedan is painted in a Kamui Eternal Black, which is the same color as regular Century models. But the paint has more layers than those vehicles and exhibits a mirror-like finish.
In the Shukuga-Onretsu-no-Gi parade, which will celebrate Naruhito’s enthronement, the car carrying the imperial couple will leave the Imperial Palace at 3:30 p.m. and will travel an approximately 4.6-kilometer route to the Akasaka Palace in Minato Ward in a span of about 30 minutes.
The open car will allow crowds of well-wishers along the route to see the emperor and empress.
Stories about memories of cherry blossoms solicited from readers
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series on the death of a Japanese woman that sparked a debate about criminal justice policy in the United States
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
