A government-sponsored ceremony marking 30 years of Emperor Akihito’s reign was held Sunday at the National Theatre of Japan in Tokyo ahead of his abdication on April 30. In a congratulatory speech, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the people will «never forget» how the imperial couple have «always
A government-sponsored ceremony marking 30 years of Emperor Akihito’s reign was held Sunday at the National Theatre of Japan in Tokyo ahead of his abdication on April 30.
In a congratulatory speech, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the people will «never forget» how the imperial couple have «always stood by the people for 30 years.»
Abe also said the couple’s official visits to 35 countries since the emperor acceded the throne in 1989 have strengthened friendly ties between Japan and those nations.
Fukushima Gov Masao Uchibori, whose northeastern prefecture was hit by a nuclear crisis in 2011, thanked the imperial couple for their encouraging messages and visits to the affected areas.
«The people of Fukushima were given the courage to move forward as they tried to recover from the globally unprecedented triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis,» Uchibori said.
Former Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, who accompanied the imperial couple on a trip to Singapore in 2006, said the emperor and empress were «selfless» and «had contact with people wholeheartedly» overseas as they do in Japan.
She said the significance of their trips abroad was «far beyond international goodwill» as they created «a deep impression» both in Japan and the visited countries.
