TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th September, 2022) Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will attend the funeral of the late UK Queen Elizabeth II, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday.
"At the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, which will take place on September 19, we ask Their Imperial Majesties to attend at the invitation of the British Royal Family. The government's decision will be adopted on September 16 at a Cabinet meeting," Matsuno said at a press conference, adding that the decision was made given the different circumstances.
The official specified that during the 70 years of reign, Queen Elizabeth II communicated with three generations of Japanese emperors and personally invited Emperor Naruhito to the UK upon his accession to the throne, but the visit was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now scheduled for September 17-20.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was one of the candidates to attend the queen's funeral on Japan's behalf. However, since each country received only two invitations, it was decided that Emperor Naruhito and his wife would be representing Japan.
Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, at the age of 96, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland surrounded by her family, after over 70 years on the British throne. Her eldest son, Charles III, became the new king of the United Kingdom immediately after her death, but the official ceremony took place on Saturday at the St. James's Palace in London.
