Japanese emperor, empress to attend queen’s funeral

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will travel to Britain to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral next week and pay respects. Japan’s top government spokesperson said Wednesday that the government has requested their attendance, considering the close relations between Japanese and British royal families. He said there were no plans for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida nor other government officials to attend the queen’s funeral. In a statement, Naruhito noted that the queen always warmly watched over relations between the two countries. He said the queen treated him kindly and thoughtfully while he studied at Oxford in the 1980s and during his official visits to Britain.