Emperor Naruhito has made a speech in English at the opening ceremony of the 22nd annual meeting of the Science and Technology in Society (STS) forum in the city of Kyoto.
On Sunday morning, the emperor and Empress Masako visited the Kyoto International Conference Center for the event. This was the sixth time attending STS forum for the emperor, including when he was crown prince, and the second for the empress.
On artificial intelligence (AI), a key topic of the forum meeting, the emperor said in his speech that it is generating innovations across a broad spectrum of fields in society. At the same time, he said that there are a host of challenging issues related to AI that "require careful, thoughtful deliberation."
"Let me express my heartfelt wish that global leaders will continue their efforts to bring their wisdom together and search for the best way to make the most of science and technology for the future of our earth and the sustainable development of humankind," the emperor said.
The imperial couple listened to the opening session, titled "Looking at the World in 2030 and beyond." In the afternoon of the same day, they privately visited the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto.
On Monday, the emperor and empress will leave for Tokyo after visiting the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
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