Tokyo: Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako left Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on a government plane Saturday for an official visit to Indonesia to promote international goodwill.

This is the couple’s first overseas trip for such a purpose since the Emperor’s enthronement in 2019, while they visited Britain last September to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

At the airport, the Emperor and Empress were seen off by Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, as well as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife. The plane carrying the two left the airport at around 11:20 a.m. (2:20 a.m. GMT). They are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta in the evening.

On Sunday, the Imperial couple will inspect a railway facility and a drainage pump station, both built with Japanese assistance.

On Monday, they will attend a welcome event at the Bogor Palace and meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and his wife. The Emperor will deliver a speech at a luncheon.

On Tuesday, the couple will offer flowers at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery and hold talks with university students studying Japanese.

On Wednesday, the Emperor will travel alone to the Special Region of Yogyakarta and attend a banquet hosted by its governor. The following day, he will visit Borobudur Temple, a World Heritage Site.

Empress Masako is making her first overseas visit for the purpose of promoting international friendship since December 2002. She will decide whether to attend events in Jakarta from Sunday to Tuesday depending on her health condition.

At a press conference on Thursday this week, the Emperor said he hopes the visit will help further deepen the friendship between Japan and Indonesia.

JIJI Press