Japan Emperor Thanks Netherlands, Belgium for Warm Welcome

Namur, Belgium, June 24 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on Wednesday expressed gratitude for the warm welcome he and his wife, Empress Masako, received from the Netherlands and Belgium during their state visits to the two European countries. “I am really happy and truly grateful that we were cordially welcomed,” the Emperor told reporters in the Belgian city of Namur. He said that he is happy to have been able to reunite with members of the Dutch and Belgian Royal families, including young princesses who are of or around the same age as Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. “We are very glad that (the princesses) have grown up,” he said. “I think we have been able to build a bridge for the next generation.” Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako started their visit to the Netherlands on June 13 and moved on to Belgium on Saturday. They last visited the two countries in 2013 and 1999, respectively, when they were Crown Prince and Crown Princess. The Emperor ascended the throne in 2019. Emperor Naruhito reiterated his belief that it is “extremely important to humbly learn from history,” referring to the Imperial couple’s visit to a monument to the war dead in Amsterdam during their stay in the Netherlands. The Emperor’s parents, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, did the same in 2000, when the former Emperor was on the throne. “I acted from the bottom of my heart in a way that inherited my parents’ feelings,” he said. “I felt we were able to talk with members of the two countries’ Royal families in a very relaxed atmosphere and further deepen exchanges,” the Emperor said regarding the couple’s stays at Royal castles in the Netherlands and Belgium. Also on Wednesday, Emperor Naruhito visited imec, a semiconductor research center in the Belgian city of Leuven, with Belgian King Philippe. The Emperor inspected facilities at the center, which has a partnership with Japanese chipmaker Rapidus Corp., and talked with Japanese researchers there. The Emperor also visited KU Leuven, a university in the same city that his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito, posthumously called Emperor Showa, visited in 1921, when he was Crown Prince. The university’s library was destroyed by German forces in World War I but was revived with support from Japanese political and economic figures who donated a total of about 15,000 books, inspired by Emperor Hirohito’s visit. Emperor Naruhito listened to an explanation from a university professor and encouraged students researching about Japan. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are slated to depart for Japan on Thursday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]