Japan government to ask Emperor to become 2020 games honorary chief

July 9, 2019

Tokyo--The Japanese government will ask Emperor Naruhito to serve as honorary chief of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will make the request through the Imperial Household Agency, Suga told a cabinet meeting.

"If the Emperor serves as honorary chief and gives opening remarks at the games as the symbol of Japan, that would be meaningful in terms of international goodwill and for the purpose of realizing events in which the entire people participate and share dreams and hopes," Suga added.

In the 1964 Tokyo Games, Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, and Emperor Emeritus Akihito, the then Crown Prince, assumed such honorary roles for the Olympics and Paralympics, respectively, and delivered opening addresses, according to the government. Jiji Press