Japanese emperor’s birthday celebrated in Jeddah
The Consulate General of Japan in Jeddah held on Thursday a reception to celebrate the 85th birthday of Emperor Akihito, the 125th emperor of Japan, at the residence of Consul General Masayuki Miyamoto.
The reception was attended by Ambassador Sami bin Jameel Abdullah, director of protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah region, in the presence of princes, consuls general accredited in Jeddah, Saudi businessmen and media figures, in addition to the Japanese community in the western region.
After playing the national anthems of the two countries, Consul General Miyamoto delivered a speech in which he welcomed the guests and stressed on the excellent relations between Japan and the Kingdom, based on mutual respect and appreciation.
He announced that this year would be the last year to mark the birthday of Akihito as emperor. He will abdicate next year and the crown prince will accede to the imperial throne.
He said that the Japanese city Osaka would host next year the G20 Summit. Both Japan and Saudi Arabia are active members of this group.
Miyamoto said that Saudi Arabia was among the 10 most important trading partners for Japan. Japan is the third top trading partner for the Kingdom and one of the largest investors with capital of about SR53 billion ($14.13 billion), including investments in Rabigh, Yanbu and Jeddah, and providing employment to about 7,000 Saudi citizens. The annual trade between the two countries exceeds SR100 billion in Saudi surplus.
He said that Japan worked strongly for more presence in both public and private sector projects of the Kingdom such as water, renewable energy, infrastructure and other projects.
Ambassador Sami and Consul General Miyamoto cut a cake to celebrate this occasion.