Japan’s new emperor ‘prays for happiness of the people’ in first address
Emperor Naruhito gave his first speech as the new monarch of Japan on Wednesday morning, promising to fulfill his responsibilities as “the symbol of the state and the unity of the people”.
Just hours after his father, Emperor Akihito, formally stepped down from the Chrysanthemum Throne at midnight and the new Reiwa Era dawned, Emperor Naruhito also promised to “sincerely pray for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation, as well as the peace of the world”.
The emperor also vowed to “share in the joys and sorrows of the people”, as well as expressing “heartfelt respect and appreciation” for the actions of his father.
The 59-year-old emperor was speaking shortly after attending a brief ceremony in the palace - the Kenji-to-Shokei-no-Gi - in which he accepted the imperial regalia, which signify his position as emperor.
In an event that is traditionally restricted to adult male members of the imperial family and the cabinet - although Japan’s only female government minister, Satsuki Katayama, broke precedent by being in attendance - chamberlains to the imperial family entered the Matsu-no-Ma state room bearing the symbols of the emperor.
The regalia - a sword and a jewel - are inside sealed boxes that have not been opened in centuries. The third item that makes up the regalia, a mirror, is not permitted to leave Ise Shrine, in Mie Prefecture, the spiritual home of the Shinto religion.
Chamberlains also presented the two seals of state to the emperor, who wore a formal suit with a red sash and a white bow tie.
Skies cleared over Tokyo on Wednesday morning, although the heavy rain overnight had not stopped countless Japanese people celebrating the arrival of the new era on the stroke of midnight.
Television footage has shown revellers dancing in the streets in the Shibuya district of Tokyo at midnight, many wearing T-shirts bearing the two characters for the name of the new era - which means “beautiful harmony”.
Thousands more braved the rain to be outside the imperial palace at midnight, with one man who had travelled from Kyoto for the occasion telling Kyodo News, “I wanted to see this place to have a special memory because this is a once-in-a-lifetime event”.
In the city of Dazaifu, in south-west Japan, more than 1,500 local people were marshalled into the shape of the characters for Reiwa, with 68-year-old Hiroshi Nabeshima saying, “I feel lucky to be part of the celebration”.
In Yamagata, five couples got married at a hotel at midnight, while hundreds of others registered their marriages at city halls within seconds of the start of the new era.
Elsewhere, a fully-booked charter flight flew over Mount Fuji at dawn and local officials on Minamitorishima Island, Japan’s most easterly point, gathered on a beach to see the first sunrise of the Reiwa Era.
The new emperor and Empress Masako will make their first public appearance at the imperial palace on Saturday, greeting members of the public from a balcony.
A number of further ceremonies are scheduled for the coming months, culminating in the Sokuirei Seiden no Gi, the formal enthronement of the emperor, on October 22.
