Emperor Naruhito thanked medical staff involved in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in his New Year video address broadcast Friday, bringing attention to the burden front-line health care workers are bearing as infections surge in major population centers.
The emperor set a hopeful tone in his first video message since ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne in May, saying he and his wife, Empress Masako, are looking forward to meeting people again once the situation has improved.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
PHOTO GALLERY (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.