The Japanese Emperor is in London today for a state visit, the first by the occupant of the chrysanthemum throne to the UK for 26 years. Along with a trip to Buckingham Palace, Emperor Naruhito, accompanied by his wife Empress Masako, will inspect the Thames barrier, which the Emperor studied as a student. He’ll then proceed to Oxford where he spent happy years as an undergraduate. The Emperor will also pay a private visit to St. George’s chapel and lay a wreath at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II. Naruhito is a genuine Anglophile.
You may not hear too much about this visit, due to other salient events obviously (there won’t be a meeting with Rishi Sunak) and the characteristically low-key way the Japanese Emperor goes about his duties. The visit (postponed from 2020 due to Covid) is being characterised as a celebration of long-standing ties between the two royal houses and the UK and Japan more broadly.
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