Naruhito wishes a good year to Japan in traditional greeting from the balcony
Emperor Naruhito of Japan fulfilled today the traditional imperial greeting to his people from a balcony and wished those present a "peaceful and good year", an act in which he participated for the first time since he assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne.
On May 1 Naruhito, 59, succeeded his father, now Emperor Emeritus Akihito, 86, who in 2016 announced his intention to abdicate the throne, which he arrived in 1989, for health reasons and his age advanced
It is tradition that at this time the emperor greets his people from one of the balconies of the imperial palace and utters a few words expressing his good wishes at the beginning of the year.
"I hope this year will be peaceful and good and without natural disasters," Naruhito said. "At the beginning of the year, I express my desire for the happiness of the people of our country and the rest of the world," he added.
Naruhito complied with the greeting accompanied by Empress Masako and the emperors emperors, Akihito and Michiko. The latter were scheduled to accompany Naruhito and Masako only in the three morning greetings, not in the two afternoons.
In the last greeting of Akihito to his people at the beginning of the year as emperor, on January 2, 2019, some 154,000 people attended in total on the different occasions when he appeared on the balcony.
