Tokyo, Oct. 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attended an opening ceremony for the Japan Games multisport event at the Maeda Arena, an indoor arena, in the northeastern city of Aomori on Saturday. It was the first time for an opening ceremony for the event, previously known as the National Sports Festival, to take place at an indoor facility. At the ceremony, the Imperial couple, participating athletes and others offered silent prayers for victims of disasters that have hit the country, including the July 28 massive earthquake in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto. In his address, Emperor Naruhito expressed his sympathy for surviving victims and said, “I expect that the excitement to be created here, coupled with people’s love of sports, will become hopes for the future.” Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako arrived in Aomori Prefecture earlier on Saturday aboard a special jet from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. On Sunday, the Emperor and the Empress will watch table tennis matches in the city of Aomori. Also in the city on the day, they will visit a beach developed at a former berth used for a ferry service that had connected Aomori Prefecture and the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, the Nebuta Museum Wa Rasse, which features exhibits related to Aomori’s traditional Nebuta festival, a nursing home for elderly people and a complex hosting facilities such as a nursery. The Emperor and the Empress will return to Tokyo later on Sunday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
