Buckingham Palace explained that a new date for the visit would be announced later.
The trip of Emperor Naruhito of Japan and his wife Masako to the UK, scheduled for this spring, has been postponed due to the spread of coronavirus. The announcement was made by Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
“After consultation with Her Majesty’s Government and that of Japan, Queen [Elizabeth II] agreed that in the current circumstances the planned state visit of Her Majesty the Emperor of Japan and his wife to Britain in the spring of 2020 should be postponed. The new date for the visit will be announced later,” it said.
For its part, the Japanese side also confirmed that the visit of the Emperor’s Four will be postponed. “Due to the situation with the proliferation of coronavirus, it was decided to postpone the visit of the Imperial Four to the UK scheduled for spring,” Japanese Cabinet Secretary General Yoshihide Suga said at a regular press conference.
This was to be the first overseas visit by a Japanese Imperial Four since Emperor Naruhito ascended the throne in May last year. The trip was to be organized in April or May 2020.