Duterte invites Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako to visit Philippines

June 6, 2019

President Rodrigo Duterte has invited new Japanese Emperor Naruhito as well as Empress Masako to the Philippines. The invitation was coursed through Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during Duterte’s meeting with the Japanese leader in Tokyo last May. Duterte was in Tokyo to speak at a conference sponsored by the Japanese business media group, NIkkei.
Naruhito succeeded his father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito who abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne on April 30. Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the Philippines twice: first as Crown Prince in November 1962 and as Emperor in January 2016.