Utsunomiya: Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako attended the general opening ceremony of the National Sports Festival in Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi Prefecture, eastern Japan, Saturday.

This marked the Imperial couple’s first trip outside of Tokyo since the COVID-19 outbreak. They last made a regional trip two years and eight months ago.

The opening ceremony took place at Kanseki Stadium Tochigi in the afternoon.

The couple attended the National Sports Festival opening ceremony for the first time in three years.

Praising people who worked to hold the sports event, the Emperor said, “I’m happy to be able to attend (the opening ceremony) with you all.”

“I want you to make good memories while feeling the greatness of sports and cherishing the spirit of once-in-a-lifetime encounter,” he continued.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako then watched dance and singing performances by local high school students with applause.

After the ceremony, they will receive an explanation from Tochigi Governor Tomikazu Fukuda about the situation in the prefecture and return to Tokyo later in the day.

They left the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday morning and arrived in Tochigi around noon (3 a.m. GMT).

The Imperial Household Agency had considered an overnight trip for the Imperial couple.

But it dropped the plan, taking into account the COVID-19 situation and other factors.

Before the departure, agency officials traveling with the couple took polymerase chain reaction tests for the novel coronavirus.

The couple only used a car for the day trip to prevent crowds from being formed around them at train stations.

COVID-19 tests were also conducted on athletes and others participating in the opening ceremony while the audience were asked to monitor their health conditions before the event.

JIJI Press