By AKIKO TADA/ Staff Writer
June 17, 2023 at 18:56 JST
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako prepare for departure June 17 aboard the special government plane that will take them to Indonesia. (Koichiro Yoshida)
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako flew to Indonesia on June 17 to promote goodwill and friendship.
It marks the couple’s first overseas visit for such a purpose since Naruhito became emperor in 2019. It is also Masako’s first goodwill trip overseas since 2002.
The imperial couple were seen off at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport by Crown Prince Fumihito, Crown Princess Kiko, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, his wife, Yuko, and other dignitaries.
They arrived in Jakarta in the evening.
They will take part in a welcoming ceremony on the outskirts of Jakarta on June 19 and meet with descendants of Japanese soldiers who stayed on after World War II to fight for Indonesia’s independence.
The couple will present flowers June 20 at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in southern Jakarta, where Indonesia’s national heroes, including Japanese veterans, are buried.
Naruhito will travel to Yogyakarta by himself on June 21 and 22 before the couple returns to Japan on June 23.
Fumihito will carry out state duties on behalf of his older brother while the emperor is away from Japan.
Indonesia’s capital under virus order, hospitals nearly full
September 14, 2020Jakarta bans single-use plastic bags from markets and malls
January 8, 2020
As Jakarta heads into lockdown, doctors warn of buckling health system
September 10, 2020
Indonesia students, workers rally against new labor law
October 8, 2020
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
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 about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
