Emperor Naruhito Current Events Part 1: May 2019 -


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
iceflower

iceflower

Administrator
Site Team
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
77,271
Country
Germany
* *

Welcome to Part 1 of the thread for the Current Events of Emperor Naruhito!

The old thread can be found here:

** Crown Prince Naruhito Current Events Part 2: January 2018 - April 2019 **



Please take a look at the
TRF Community Rules & FAQs


· Only pictures you have written permission to share can be posted here. You can post links to any pictures.
· No more than 20% of the text of an article can be posted, along with a link to the original article.
· It's a copyright violation to post translations of entire articles.
· We expect our members to treat each other and the royals and persons in these threads with respect.
· Opinions should be backed up by reference to published reports.
· Off topic and empty posts will be deleted without notice.
· Please be careful not to write in capital letters.

:flowers: Happy Posting! :flowers:​
 
Last edited:
A longer video of Emperor Naruhito's first day at the office on May 7
 
On May 14th, Emperor Naruhito commuted to the Imperial Palace to receive reports from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on domestic and foreign affairs. It's the first briefing between the new emperor and prime minister. They previously met several times as crown prince and PM.

Photos: Sankei, Mainichi

ETA: Abe visits new Emperor to report on state affairs - News - NHK WORLD - English
[...] Abe is believed to have briefed the Emperor on ongoing preparations for a state visit by US President Donald Trump scheduled from May 25. Trump will be the first foreign leader to meet with Emperor Naruhito.
Click to expand...

Japan's new Emperor Naruhito receives 1st briefing from prime minister - Kyodo News+
[...]

The content of the discussions between the emperor, the prime minister and his Cabinet ministers cannot be disclosed in accordance with an unwritten rule under a practice called "naiso."

Abe is believed to have explained spring decorations to be conferred by the emperor, according to sources close to the matter.

[...]
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
On May 16th, Emperor Naruhito received the credentials of new ambassadors to Japan from Luxembourg and Brunei at the Imperial Palace.

Before becoming emperor, he received credentials 17 times for 34 countries as a substitute during the Showa and Heisei eras.

Photos: Sankei, Asahi
 
Last edited:
On May 20th, Emperor Naruhito planted rice seedlings at the Imperial Palace.

https://www.jiji.com/news/photos/photo_news/images/658/0031505005.jpg
https://cdn.mainichi.jp/vol1/2019/05/20/20190520k0000m040246000p/9.jpg

Emperor's first rice planting ceremony - News - NHK WORLD - English
Japanese Emperor Naruhito transplanted rice seedlings in a paddy at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Monday.

[...]

Wearing a turquoise long-sleeved shirt, gray trousers and boots, the Emperor entered the paddy and transplanted 100 seedlings.

[...]
Click to expand...
Emperor Conducts 1st Rice Planting since Enthronement | Nippon.com
The Emperor planted the "Mangetsumochi" glutinous rice variety and "Nihomasari," a nonglutinous brand. The seedlings were grown from unhulled rice seeds planted by the Emperor Emeritus last month, before his abdication on April 30.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
There's some very nice symbolism there: the new emperor transplanting the seedlings started by the previous emperor.
 
On May 23rd, Emperor Naruhito conferred orders at the Imperial Palace. The 12 recipients included:
* Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers to former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Itsuro Terada
* Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun to former Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah
* Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun to former Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei

Photos: Getty Images

Emperor Naruhito Awards Medals for 1st Time | Nippon.com
New Japanese Emperor Naruhito conferred decorations on 12 people, including two foreigners, in the first spring medal ceremony in the Reiwa era held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Thursday.

[...]

"I am deeply grateful for your many years of hard work serving the country, society and the people," the Emperor told the recipients.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Olympics: Emperor Naruhito to assume role as Tokyo 2020 Honorary Patron - Kyodo News+
Emperor Naruhito will assume the role of Honorary Patron of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Imperial Household Agency announced Monday.

The honor was formally requested by Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori, and submitted to the Imperial Household Agency through Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month.

The emperor will officially assume the role on Wednesday, exactly one year before the Olympics begin in the Japanese capital next summer.

"We are deeply grateful to His Majesty the Emperor for assuming the role of Honorary Patron of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, an event that will bring together the world's top athletes and showcase their technique and power," Mori said in a press release.

"The games will also provide a great opportunity to deepen the friendship and solidarity between people all over the world and for us reflect on the preciousness of peace."

[...]

Emperor Naruhito's grandfather then Emperor Hirohito was appointed Honorary Patron of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, while his father, then crown prince, assumed the role for that year's Paralympics.

For the 1998 Nagano Games, then Emperor Akihito served as Honorary Patron of the Olympics, while his son took the post for the Paralympics as the crown prince.

By unifying the honorary roles for the 2020 Games, organizers are aiming to keep the Paralympics on the same level with the Olympics.

[...]

Mori also said he hopes the emperor's assumption of the honorary role will help promote the organizer's theme of a "Reconstruction Olympics" showcasing Japan's recovery from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disasters that devastated the northeastern part of the country.

[...]
Click to expand...
 
:previous:

Is there a risk that the emperor's acceptance of the role could be viewed, fairly or not, as political, since only three Olympics have had the (then) emperor serving in this role? I think the ballooning bill for the Olympics has been an issue in some local elections.
 
I am not sure why it would be perceived political. His refusal to become honorary patron might be considered more political than the other way around given that the last Olympics in Japan also had the emperor as honorary patron.

If the overview above is correct out of 4 Olympics (1964, 1972, 1998, 2020) 3 of them will have had the emperor as honorary patron. Only 1972 didn't.
 
Somebody said:
I am not sure why it would be perceived political. His refusal to become honorary patron might be considered more political than the other way around given that the last Olympics in Japan also had the emperor as honorary patron.

If the overview above is correct out of 4 Olympics (1964, 1972, 1998, 2020) 3 of them will have had the emperor as honorary patron. Only 1972 didn't.
Click to expand...

My apologies. I read and replied too quickly and failed to see that the honorary role was always specifically connected to hosting the Olympic games in Japan rather than the Japanese delegation's participation in every Olympics.
 
On August 1st, Emperor Naruhito formally opened the 199th extraordinary session at the upper house of parliament in Tokyo.

AP Images, Mainichi gallery

https://twitter.com/x/status/1156823348875104256

Japan lawmakers with severe disabilities attend 1st Diet session - The Mainichi

Emperor gives first Diet speech since accession | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
[...] The Emperor said he hopes that the Diet, as the highest organ of state power, will fulfill its duties in dealing with issues at home and abroad, and live up to the people's expectations.

He basically used the same words as his father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito.

[...]

In 2003, the then Crown Prince attended the opening ceremony of an ordinary Diet session on behalf of his father, who was in hospital for prostate cancer surgery.
Click to expand...
New emperor opens Japan’s Diet, now wheelchair accessible (AP)
Emperor Naruhito delivered his first opening speech to Japan’s Diet on Thursday after recent elections and a renovation at the upper house to improve its accessibility for two new lawmakers who use wheelchairs.

Naruhito rose from a chair decorated with gold and a chrysanthemum emblem and declared to lawmakers from both houses gathered at the upper house assembly hall: “I earnestly hope that the Diet, as it handles various domestic and overseas issues, will sufficiently carry out its responsibility as the highest institution of sovereignty and respond to the people’s trust.” [...]
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Emperor Naruhito Conducts 1st Rice Harvest since Ascension | Nippon.com
Japanese Emperor Naruhito on Thursday conducted his first rice harvest at the Imperial Palace since he assumed the throne on May 1.

[...]

Wearing a long-sleeved shirt, navy pants and boots, Emperor Naruhito harvested rice he planted in the paddy field near a biology laboratory at the palace in May. He cut a total of 100 plants of the "Mangetsumochi" glutinous rice variety and "Nihonmasari," a nonglutinous brand, with a new sickle.

[...]

Rice from the paddy is normally used in the "Niinamesai" first harvest celebration ceremony, an annual ritual at the palace. This year, the ceremony is replaced by "Daijosai," the first Niinamesai performed by a new emperor. Rice from Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, and the western prefecture of Kyoto will be used for the Daijosai ritual by Emperor Naruhito, set for Nov. 14-15.
Click to expand...
https://www.sankei.com/images/news/190920/lif1909200010-p1.jpg
 
.

Emperor Naruhito received Princess Anne at the Akasaka Imperial Residence in Tokyo today, October 11:



** Pic **
 
On November 3rd, Emperor Naruhito attended the conferment ceremony for Order of Culture recipients at the Imperial Palace.

Mainichi gallery

Order of Culture Conferred on Nobelist Yoshino, Others | Nippon.com
[...] At the ceremony in the Imperial Palace, the Emperor handed the badge of the order to Yoshino, 71, who shared this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry with foreign researchers, and five other people.

The other five were Japanese "kyogen" traditional farcical play actor Nomura Man, 89, mathematical engineering scholar Shunichi Amari, 83, immunologist Shimon Sakaguchi, 68, political scientist Takeshi Sasaki, 77, and photographer Takeyoshi Tanuma, 90. [...]
Click to expand...
 
On November 8th, Emperor Naruhito received Professor Stuart Pimm, winner of the 2019 International Cosmos Award, at Akasaka Imperial Palace.

Photo: Imperial Household Agency
 
On November 25th, Emperor Naruhito received Pope Francis for an audience at the Imperial Palace.

Some visits between the Pope and Imperial family:
1965: Prince and Princess Hitachi meet Pope Paul VI at the Vatican
1981: Pope John Paul II visited Japan and was received by Emperor Showa
1984: Then-Prince Hiro (Naruhito) met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican during his study abroad in the UK
1993: Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko met Pope John Paul II at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy
2016: Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko visited Pope Francis at the Vatican during an official visit to Italy

Photos: Mainichi, Getty Images, Sankei

https://twitter.com/x/status/1198800130234699777
ETA: Pope Francis meets with Japan’s Emperor Naruhito - Vatican News
The private meeting at the Imperial Palace lasted around 30 minutes.

Pope Francis gave Emperor Naruhito a mosaic of the “View of the Arch of Titus”, based on a watercolor painting by the Roman artist Filippo Anivitti (1876-1955).

[...]
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Prisma said:
On November 25th, Emperor Naruhito received Pope Francis for an audience at the Imperial Palace.

Some visits between the Pope and Imperial family:
1965: Prince and Princess Hitachi meet Pope Paul VI at the Vatican
1981: Pope John Paul II visited Japan and was received by Emperor Showa
1984: Then-Prince Hiro (Naruhito) met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican during his study abroad in the UK
1993: Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko met Pope John Paul II at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy
2016: Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko visited Pope Francis at the Vatican during an official visit to Italy
Click to expand...

Very interesting! That seems like a higher number of visits than might be expected for a country whose Christian population is only around 1% (and not all of them Catholic).

I wondered if Princess Nobuko, being raised Catholic (does she still practice the religion?) would meet the pope, but apparently not.
 
:previous: Me too! Last September Princess Nobuko visited St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican during a private trip to Italy but nothing about meeting the Pope. [Sankei Imperial Weekly #557]

On December 7th, Emperor Naruhito attended the Japanese Alpine Club’s annual dinner at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Photos: AP Images, Getty Images, Kyodo, Sankei
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

iceflower
Queen Mary, Current Events Part 1: January 2024 -
2 3
Replies
75
Views
11K
Izzie
Izzie
Hans-Rickard
Crown Prince Christian, News and Current Events Part 1: January 2024 -
2
Replies
47
Views
8K
An Ard Ri
An Ard Ri
iceflower
King Frederik X, Current Events Part 1: January 2024 -
2 3
Replies
74
Views
10K
Sister Morphine
Sister Morphine
Hans-Rickard
King Frederik X and Queen Mary, Current Events Part 1: January 2024 -
Replies
16
Views
4K
LibrarianDaisy
LibrarianDaisy
iceflower
Princess Caroline Current Events Part 4: January 2024 -
Replies
6
Views
3K
iceflower
iceflower

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom