Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, PM Kishida may attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: Reports

TOKYO: Japan’s Emperor Naruhito programs to attend the funeral service of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth , while Leading Minister Fumio Kishida may also attend, Japanese media said.

It would be Naruhito’s first overseas trip since acceding to the throne in May 2019. Empress Masako has also expressed a wish to attend, and the Japanese government is organizing their trip, NTV, TBS and other mass media said on Friday (Sep 10), citing government sources.

Kishida is considering attending the memorial, which Britain says will be held in a little more than a week, prior to visiting New York for that United Nations General Set up late in the month, TV Asahi documented on Saturday. US President Joe Biden has said he will go to the funeral associated with Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

The Prime Minister’s Office and Imperial Household Agency could hardly immediately be reached outside business hours for comment on the reports.

The particular British royals plus Japan’s imperial loved ones have longstanding ties. The emperor had been invited to Britain by the queen within 2020, but the trip was postponed due to the pandemic.