TOKYO: The Japanese government Tuesday adopted a plan for Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to make an official visit to Britain from June 22 to 29.

During their trip, the Imperial couple will attend various official events, including a banquet at Buckingham Palace, and visit the University of Oxford, where they both studied.

The schedule was decided at a cabinet meeting.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, the Emperor and the Empress will leave Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in the morning of June 22 and arrive in London the same day in the afternoon local time.

The Emperor is set to inspect a flood prevention facility on the River Thames and other sites on June 23 and 24.

On June 25, the Emperor and the Empress will attend a welcoming ceremony and a luncheon hosted by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. They will then lay flowers at the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

In the evening the same day, they will attend a banquet hosted by King Charles III and his wife, where the King and the Emperor will deliver speeches.

On June 27, the Emperor and the Empress will bid farewell to King Charles III and his wife in the morning and visit Young V&A, formerly the V&A Museum of Childhood. The Emperor will visit Windsor Castle in the afternoon and offer flowers at the graves of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip.

After visiting the University of Oxford on June 28, the Emperor and the Empress will leave the country from a Royal Air Force base in Carterton in the evening and return to Japan on June 29.

The relationship between the Japanese Imperial Family and the British Royal Family have spanned some 150 years.

The Imperial couple’s visit to Britain was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emperor and the Empress attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

JIJI Press