TOKYO: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has conveyed his congratulations to the Japanese government on Emperor Naruhito’s smooth enthronement ceremony at the Imperial Palace here, attended by hundreds of Heads of State and dignitaries from around the country on Tuesday.
Comptroller of the Royal Household for Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said His Majesty addressed the speech to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a meeting held at the Akasaka State Guesthouse here on Tuesday after the enthronement ceremony was concluded.
He said Al-Sultan Abdullah, who granted an audience to Abe, had also set aside the protocol for the meeting, to enhance the long-standing good relations between Malaysia and Japan.
“At the 20-minute meeting, His Majesty also congratulated the Japanese rugby team who made history when they qualified for the Rugby World Cup quarter-final for the first time.
“Abe thanked His Majesty and promised to convey the message to the team and hopes it will ignite their desire to perform better at the upcoming tournament,” he told reporters here yesterday.
He said at the 20-minute meeting, His Majesty also expressed condolences to the Japanese government for the loss of more than 70 people and the devastation caused by Typhoon Hagibis on Oct 12 and hoped that the affected people would soon recover from the tragedy.
Al-Sultan Abdullah also touched on the close relations between the two countries, through the visit of the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah to Japan in October 2012, besides Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir’s six working visits to Japan since 2018.
Emperor Naruhito also made an official visit to Malaysia in April 2017 when he was Crown Prince of Japan, in addition to a national visit by his father, Emperor Akihito in June 2006.
“His Majesty points out that Malaysia values the bilateral relations with Japan in addition to both countries having strong ties in the economic sector with Japan being the second leading country for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia in 2018 and hopes this will continue,” he said.
Al-Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah are here at the invitation of the Japanese government to attend the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Naruhito as the 126th Emperor of the land of the rising sun. – Bernama
