PHL eyes golden age of ties with Japan when Naruhito ascends throne

Malacañang said Monday the Philippines is expecting a "golden age" of bilateral relations under Japan's next emperor Naruhito who will inherit the imperial throne this week.

"We hope to build the 'golden age' for Philippines-Japan strategic partnership during the reign of the new Emperor. As President Rodrigo Duterte himself said, Japan is our friend, closer even than a brother," presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

Panelo added Japan's new imperial era would "augur well" for relations between the two countries which normalized in 1956, more than a decade after Japan ended its occupation of the Philippines after suffering from a crushing defeat in World War II.

The Palace official lauded Japan's $9-billion investment and aid package for the Philippines, spread over five years, saying it was "the largest amount the Japanese government has committed for a single country."

Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1, a day after his father, Emperor Akihito, abdicates. Citing age and declining health, the 85-year-old Akihito will be the first Japanese emperor to abdicate since 1817.

"The Palace feels melancholic about the abdication of Japanese Emperor Akihito, who is considered a good friend of the Philippines. But he has made a decision and we can only respect it and wish him well with whatever awaits him after he leaves the throne," Panelo said.

Duterte met Akihito and his wife Empress Michiko for the first time in October 2017.

The President was supposed to meet Akihito during his first visit to Japan in October 2016, but it was cancelled after the announcement of the death of the Emperor’s uncle, 100-year-old Prince Mikasa. —NB, GMA News