Emperor Naruhito and empress Masako: Japan’s anglophile royal couple
While there had been speculation that the upcoming visit would be postponed again because of the UK general election on July 4, it has now been given the green light, making it the first state visit in modern times to take place during an election campaign.The trip, from June 25 to 27, will also be the first Japanese state visit to the UK since 1998. Despite it being more than two decades since Japanese royalty touched down on UK soil in an official capacity, Japan’s royal couple have deep ties to the UK. Emperor Naruhito, 64, and his wife, empress Masako, 60, who have been at the head of Japan’s monarchy since 2019, both studied at Oxford in their university days, when Naruhito was a young prince and Masako a fledgling diplomat. The couple also attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabet...










