Emperor, Empress Attend Sports Festival Opening Ceremony

September 28, 2019

Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Pref.- Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Saturday attended the opening ceremony of the 74th National Sports Festival held at the Kasamatsu Sports Park athletics stadium in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan.

The Imperial couple's attendance in the annual athletic meet was the first since the Emperor's enthronement on May 1.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako viewed performances by marching bands and dancers from VIP seats, and clapped with smiles on their faces when athletes entered the stadium at the ceremony.

In the sky above the stadium, the Air Self-Defense Force's Blue Impulse aerobatic team performed a celebratory flight.

"I hope many athletes participating in this competition will join and shine in next year's Tokyo Olympics," the Emperor said at the ceremony.

Until last year, remarks by an Emperor at the sports festival had been cut since 2009 to reduce burdens on then Emperor Akihito, currently Emperor Emeritus, who abdicated earlier this year due to his old age. Jiji Press