Japan’s Emperor Naruhito’s Enthronement Ceremony will be held tomorrow
Tokyo … News Time
The throne of Japan’s new Emperor Naruhito will be held on Tuesday, October 22. 200 prominent leaders from across the country will attend the throne ceremony. On Tuesday, when Japan’s Emperor Naruhito publicly proclaims his enthronement, he will do so in a centuries-old ceremony at the Imperial Palace, in front of an audience of dignitaries from nearly 200 countries. Among that group of world leaders will be representatives from monarchies in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, a group that represents a new generation of royals.
The generational divide becomes clear when comparing the guest lists of this week’s event, and that of Naruhito’s father’s enthronement ceremony 30 years ago. Prince Charles attended Emperor Akihito’s ceremony alongside Princess Diana in 1990, and he will be there on Tuesday as a representative of the U.K. But Bhutan’s Queen Jetsun, who will also reportedly be in attendance this week, was just a few months old when Akihito declared his succession to the throne.
As the curtains of the takamikura throne open, the emperor will stand and deliver a speech. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will then convey congratulations from the floor of the state room and lead the guests in three banzai cheers wishing for the longevity of the emperor.
The Imperial House Law only states that an enthronement ceremony is held when an imperial succession takes place, and does not detail how to stage the rite. The previous rite, held in November 1990 for Emperor Akihito, followed the example of the enthronement ceremony of his father, Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa. That was based on Tokyokurei, a 1909 order on the formalities of the ceremony. The directive was abolished after World War II.
The government has decided to follow precedent despite criticism that doing so contravenes the postwar constitutional separation of state and religion, as well as the sovereignty of the people, by having the emperor proclaim his enthronement from a high place as the prime minister stands below.
Emperor Emeritus Akihito, the first Japanese emperor to relinquish the throne in about two centuries, and Empress Emerita Michiko are not expected to attend the ceremony. According to the Foreign Ministry, a total of 200 countries will be represented at the ceremony, up from the 160 represented at the previous enthronement ritual in 1990.
Guests from overseas include King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, King Philippe of Belgium, King Felipe VI of Spain, as well as the U.K.’s Prince Charles and Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The guests will be seated in areas surrounding the courtyard, with monitors set up to enable them to watch the ceremony. The imperial couple was originally scheduled to appear in a parade following the ceremony, but the event was postponed until Nov. 10 in the aftermath of a deadly typhoon last weekend. They will ride in a convertible along the approximately 5-kilometer route from the Imperial Palace to the Akasaka Estate in Tokyo in around 30 minutes from 3 p.m.
