TOKYO – Japan’s Emperor Naruhito said Wednesday he is “delighted” to finally be able to visit Britain after the trip was postponed for several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The royal said he hopes to rekindle his friendship with the British royal family and explore Oxford, where he studied nearly 40 years ago.
Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, will pay a week-long visit to Britain starting Saturday. The trip was originally planned for 2020, at the invitation of the late Queen Elizabeth II, as the first of her overseas visits following her accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019.
“I am really delighted to be able to visit Britain this time,” Naruhito told reporters ahead of his June 22-29 trip with Masako. The emperor said he regretted that they could not make the trip while Queen Elizabeth was alive.
“Through our next visit, I would like to reflect on the long history of exchanges between Japan and Britain,” said Naruhito. He hoped to cultivate friendships with King Charles III and Queen Camilla and other members of the British royal family, and boost relations between the two sides through meetings and exchanges.
Naruhito thanked King Charles III for accepting the visit, despite him still recovering from cancer treatment. He wished that Charles and Catherine, Princess of Waleswho is also undergoing cancer treatment, a quick recovery.
Japan’s imperial family has maintained close relations with the British royal family for three generations, starting with its grandfather, the late Emperor Hirohito.
Naruhito acknowledged that there were difficult times when Japan and Britain fought on opposite sides during World War II, but said that since then Japan has focused on peace and prosperity on the global stage. Japan and Britain have developed strong ties in areas ranging from economics to science, technology and culture, he said.
The trip includes a visit to Oxford University, where he and Masako studied separately before their marriage. Naruhito said he hopes to return to Oxford and explore the city with his wife for the first time.
Naruhito researched the 18th-century River Thames transport system while at Merton College from 1983 to 1985.
The Emperor remembered the late Queen serving him tea at Buckingham Palace when he visited London in 1983. He also fondly recalled being invited to a barbecue with the Queen and other royals, and going fishing with fly in Scotland with the then Prince Charles.
During his next trip, Naruhito will visit the Thames Barrier, pay homage to the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, lay flowers at the tombs of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in King George VI’s Chapel in Windsor, and visit the Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew, among other activities.
The couple have a relatively relaxed schedule, in part due to considerations for Masako, who is still recovering from the stress-induced conditions she developed shortly after giving birth to the couple’s only daughter, Princess Aiko, and amid pressure to having a son to continue life in Japan. exclusively male imperial succession.
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