Benjamin Netanyahu not flying to Japan days before deadline to form government
A visit next week would have allowed him to attend the enthronement ceremony of Japanese Emperor Naruhito scheduled for October 22-24.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFPM Netanyahu and PM of Japan Shinzo Abe(photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not planning to travel to Japan next week, just days before his mandate to form a government expires on October 24.The Israeli media had initially reported on the trip on Tuesday morning, but the Prime Minister’s Office never confirmed it. The Israeli media then reported that the trip had been canceled.A Netanyahu’s visit next week would have allowed him to attend the enthronement ceremony of Japanese Emperor Naruhito scheduled for October 22-24.A ceremony formally recognizing his ascension to the crown will be held on October 22 and will attract world leaders. US President Donald Trump is not expected to attend the ceremony.Netanyahu has twice traveled to Japan as prime minister, once in 1997 and again in 2014. But both those trips occurred before Shinzo Abe became Japanese prime minister in 2015.Abe has visited Israel twice, once in 2015 and again in 2018. That last trip included an Israeli diplomatic faux pas in which a chocolate dessert was served in a decorative shoe during a private dinner between Abe and his wife Akie and Netanyahu and his wife Sara.Netanyahu had planned to visit Japan in July of this year during the elections, but canceled at the last moment.Emperor Naruhito first took over from his father the former Emperor Akihito in May, but will only be formally crowned next week.Naruhito is the first Japanese emperor born after World War Two and the first to be raised solely by his parents. He is also the first who has graduated university and pursued advanced studies overseas.Naruhito, the eldest of three children, was cared for by his mother, Empress Michiko, instead of being raised by wet nurses and tutors. She even sent him to school with homemade lunches as part of parental efforts to make the royal family seem closer to the people.A student of medieval European river transport, Naruhito spent two years at Oxford University, a time he has described as some of the best years of his life.Described by some as having a “playful” side, Naruhito posed for selfies with bystanders while visiting Denmark several years ago.Naruhito defied palace officials to marry Masako Owada, now 55, after she caught his eye at a concert, prompting a years-long courtship during which she rejected his early proposals.Unique in becoming the first Japanese emperor in modern times to not have a son, Naruhito has been devoted to his daughter Aiko, now 17, and has advocated for men becoming more hands-on fathers - still uncommon in conservative Japan.Reuters contributed to this report.
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