Emperor and empress attend welcome ceremony in Mongolia
The imperial couple shook hands with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and his wife, and were handed flowers from local children decked in traditional attire. The national anthems of Japan and Mongolia were played at the ceremony, with the emperor receiving a guard of honor.
Accompanied by the Mongolian president and his wife, the imperial couple climbed up the stairs leading to the Government Palace, waving to people who gathered there.
Among those at the welcome ceremony were former yokozuna sumo grand champions Asashoryu, Hakuho and Harumafuji.
The emperor and empress then held a meeting with the president and his wife in a Mongolian portable home called a ger.
The emperor said last week that he would use the visit to honor Japanese prisoners of war who were detained by the former Soviet Union after World War II and died in Mongolia.
"I want to pay tribute to those who died far from their homeland and think about their hardships," the emperor said.
Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in August, the emperor and empress earlier this year visited Okinawa and Hiroshima prefectures, and Iwoto — also known as Iwo Jima.
The emperor said the "suffering and sorrow" experienced by people in these places "should never be forgotten."
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