Emperor Naruhito, known as the first emperor to have studied abroad, will turn 64 on Friday. The eldest son of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, he began traveling abroad in his early teens. After completing his undergraduate degree at the Department of History in the Faculty of Letters of Gakushuin University, he traveled to the United Kingdom in 1983 where he experienced dormitory life while studying at Oxford University’s Merton College for two years to research the history of transportation on the River Thames.
With his broad academic interests, he listened attentively to the achievements of the winners of the 2023 Japan Prize at the awards ceremony last April. In his congratulatory speech to the four winners in the fields of electronics, information, communications and life sciences, he expressed his wish that the people of the world will gather wisdom from diverse fields and cooperate with each other to build a hopeful future.
Last May, the emperor and Empress Masako hosted a garden party at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens for the first time since the emperor was enthroned on May 1, 2019. With ample consideration to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the size of the event was reduced and the emperor, empress and other members of the imperial family engaged in friendly conversation with their guests.
From June 17 to 23, the emperor and empress visited Indonesia upon an invitation from the Indonesian government. During the stay, the imperial couple received a warm welcome from Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife, Iriana. The emperor visited various places, including the rail yard of the Jakarta MRT, a rail project that Japan has supported financially and technically, and the remains of Borobudur. The empress joined him on some of the visits, such as those to the Bogor Botanical Gardens and Darma Persada University.
In July, the emperor and empress attended the 22nd World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control at Pacifico Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture. In a speech the emperor gave in English during the opening ceremony, he touched on the importance of automatic control in the field of water issues, which he has been engaging in, and expressed his hope for further contribution of technology for improved distribution of water resources. “Towards solving various societal challenges that our global community faces today, it is essential that we share the awareness and the goals and proceed through international collaboration,” he said.
The emperor and empress visited Ishikawa Prefecture in October to attend Ishikawa Hyakumangoku Cultural Festival 2023, an event that featured various cultural presentations, including those by people with disabilities, and to visit several places in Kanazawa.
About 2½ months after the visit of the imperial couple, Ishikawa Prefecture and surrounding areas suffered a major earthquake on Jan. 1. A public New Year’s greeting event planned for Jan. 2 that was to be attended by the emperor and his family was canceled out of consideration for the people affected. In the wake of the disaster, the emperor expressed sincere sorrow upon hearing about the casualties, as well as the many people missing or forced to evacuate in the affected areas, including Ishikawa, where he received a warm-hearted welcome during his last visit.
