Love Letter from Brussels
<< Back List Next >>
A Splendid State Visit (No.44)
27/10/2016
Last October 10 to 15, Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde made a state visit to Japan (the official program began on the 11th). My wife and I were honored to join the King and Queen’s delegation.
This visit has definitely been the highlight of the 150 Years of Friendship between Japan and Belgium. This year also marked the 20th year since the previous Belgian monarch, King Albert II, paid a state visit to Japan. Furthermore, more than 30 years have passed since the first visit of King Philippe in Japan to attend the International Exposition in Tsukuba and the current visit is his 11th visit so far.
Their Majesties the King and Queen arrived in Tokyo early in the morning on October 10 and my wife and I were among those who welcomed TMs. On that day TMs visited the Nezu shrine as part of private schedule.
From the next day of October 11 onwards, the official schedule began. First, a welcoming event was held at the Imperial Palace in the morning, followed in the evening by an Imperial banquet. In between, the King and Queen each had a busy schedule, respectively attending a luncheon meeting with business people and a luncheon with university presidents from both countries respectively.
On October 12, from the morning until the evening, the King and Queen made a visit to the city of Yuki together with Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress. There, they saw a student brass band performance and the local Kagura (music for god) dance, followed by a demonstration of yuki-tsumugi silk weaving. For your information, the city of Yuki is the sister city of Mechelen and this year marks the 20th anniversary of their sister city relationship. The King and Queen, not showing any signs of fatigue, proceeded with an informal meeting in the evening with Prime Minister Abe and Mrs. Abe at the official Guest House. Afterwards, they attended the dinner party hosted by the Prime Minister.
The following day, on October 13, TMs went by Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Nagoya, where a ceremony was held at the Aichi prefectural Governor’s office to celebrate the export of ten million Japanese cars to Belgium. The royals further attended a Belgian fair as well as the unveiling of a Nagoya version of Manneken Pis. After returning to Tokyo in the evening, they hosted a concert as a return salute. This concert was attended by the Emperor and Empress, with whom they bid farewell after the concert.
On October 14, they left Tokyo for Osaka. There as well, the schedule was packed with events, such as a luncheon with businessmen and university officials and a Noh theatre play. The King and Queen furthermore attended a concert to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Flanders Center in Osaka. The following day, on the morning of October 15, the King and Queen departed from Kansai International Airport to return home.
With the above, I introduced the outline of the visit, but what struck me deeply, travelling along with the delegation, was just how much sympathy the two parties have for one another. First, former King Albert II and the Emperor, then King Philippe and the Crown Prince, and finally King Philippe’s eldest daughter Princess Elisabeth and Princess Aiko, Crown Prince’ daughter, having the same age, in total spanning three generations, I do not think this is a coincidence. There were about 170 attendants to the Imperial Banquet, which I heard is the largest banquet since the beginning of the throne of the present Emperor (Heisei period). It seems to have been the first time in seven years for the Emperor and Empress to join the guests of State on their local travel (to Yuki). The image of thousands of people standing on the side of the road, waving flags to welcome them, has left a strong impression. At the Imperial Banquet, the song “Bluesette” by Belgian artist Toots Thielemans was played, followed by a composition of the Empress, named “Omohiko” which was played for the first time. What was fantastic was that the song was performed by Belgian musicians as an encore at the concert hosted by their Majesties the King and Queen. The fact that Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress stood up to applaud whether the performance was finished or not, was a nice expression of their true feelings. In any case, I think it was a splendid visit, with many special moments.
photos: ©Belgian Monarchy
Actually, upon request of the King and Queen, more than 100 authorities from the business world and high-level university authorities joined the delegation, apart from regional and community government officials. Many meetings were held with their Japanese counterparts and various agreements were signed. The fact that the pending revised tax treaty was signed is of great significance. Important progress was made such as the signing of a memorandum on cooperation between the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and the Brussels-Capital Region and a memorandum on cooperation between the Olympic Committees of both countries. The milestone of 150 years of friendship between Japan and Belgium was reached, but needless to say, this is not the end, but rather the momentum to further strengthen our relations. Exactly 100 years before the Tokyo Olympics of 2020, the Belgian city of Antwerp organized the Olympic Games in 1920. My next target is to work toward 2020 to further strengthen of our relations. I sincerely wish for the continuous support of you all!