Japanese Emperor Naruhito met Indonesian President Joko Widodo yesterday during his first state trip since ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019.
Naruhito and Empress Masako’s visit to Southeast Asia’s biggest economy came after Widodo invited the emperor during a trip to Tokyo last year.
The royal couple arrived at a presidential palace south of the capital, Jakarta, flanked by dozens of well-wishers shouting: “Welcome to Indonesia.”
Photo: EPA
A marching band accompanied them, playing the Japanese national anthem.
“The visit of the emperor and empress to Indonesia has further strengthened the friendship between our people,” Widodo told reporters before a formal lunch meeting.
“Such a solid foundation is necessary for the development of a strategic partnership between our two countries, especially in the economic field,” he said.
Widodo and Indonesian first lady Iriana, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, walked with the royal couple around the palace gardens and held a tree planting welcome ceremony.
Tokyo and Jakarta have moved to boost ties in recent years, with Japanese officials citing the importance of Indonesia’s emerging economy and its strategic location close to global shipping lanes.
Japan ruled Indonesia from 1942 for more than three years. Tokyo’s surrender in World War II was followed by an armed uprising against Dutch rule and Indonesia’s independence.
The royal couple is today scheduled to visit a military cemetery in Jakarta where 28 former Japanese soldiers who stayed and fought in the Indonesian War of Independence (1945 to 1949) are buried.
They are to visit to a new mass rapid transit train depot in Jakarta that was built with Japanese help, and a Tokyo-funded pumping station that prevents flooding.
Naruhito is scheduled to visit the central Javan city of Yogyakarta to meet the provincial monarch, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, and is also expected to go to Borobudur temple, the world’s largest Buddhist temple.
The Japanese royal couple are to leave Indonesia on Saturday.
They have gradually resumed public duties after limiting them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, they made their first trip abroad since the enthronement to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London.
Previous Japanese monarchs visited Indonesia in 1962 and 1991.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
As the sun sets on another scorching Yangon day, the hot and bothered descend on the Myanmar city’s parks, the coolest place to spend an evening during yet another power blackout. A wave of exceptionally hot weather has blasted Southeast Asia this week, sending the mercury to 45°C and prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes. Even before the chaos and conflict unleashed by the military’s 2021 coup, Myanmar’s creaky and outdated electricity grid struggled to keep fans whirling and air conditioners humming during the hot season. Now, infrastructure attacks and dwindling offshore gas reserves mean those who cannot afford expensive diesel
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
Does Argentine President Javier Milei communicate with a ghost dog whose death he refuses to accept? Forced to respond to questions about his mental health, the president’s office has lashed out at “disrespectful” speculation. Twice this week, presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni was asked about Milei’s English Mastiff, Conan, said to have died seven years ago. Milei, 53, had Conan cloned, and today is believed to own four copies he refers to as “four-legged children.” Or is it five? In an interview with CNN this month, Milei referred to his five dogs, whose faces and names he had engraved on the presidential baton. Conan,