Heightened alert issued as heavy rain hits Japan’s Okinawa
Japan's weather agency on Sunday urged Okinawa residents to be on high alert for mudslides and other disasters as torrential rains are drenching the country's southernmost prefecture.
Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on Tuesday formally proclaimed his enthronement in front of royals and leaders from around the world, completing his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne
In the ceremony, Naruhito dressed in a ceremonial outfit dominated by a draped outer robe in copper, announced that “I hereby declare my enthronement at home and abroad”.
He also vowed to wish for “the happiness of the people and the peace of the world” and pledged to act with responsibility and wisdom for the welfare of the Japanese people and the prosperity of humanity.
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The common people will have to make do with a televised broadcast of the ceremony on Tuesday and wait for another three weeks to see the new Emperor up close.
The ceremony was conducted largely in silence, with only drums and gongs sounding. Some 2,000 guests, including foreign dignitaries and royalty, stood at the sound of a deep drum beat before the proclamation began.
After the ceremony was complete, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cried “Banzai!” which means (“long live the emperor”) three times.
Earlier in May this year, Naruhito officially assumed his duties as emperor, the day after his father became the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in two centuries.
He is now the 126th consecutive Japanese emperor.
Japan’s monarchy is generally considered to be the longest-lived continuous hereditary royal dynasty in the world.
In the wake of Typhoon Hagibis, the government postponed a royal parade until November 10, but the rest of the day’s ceremonies were left unchanged.
(With inputs from agencies)
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