Naruhito's First Visit to Mongolia

For the last eight days, Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan has been touring Mongolia. The prince was officially invited by President Nambaryn Enkhbayar to celebrate the 35th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Japan and Mongolia.

Naruhito highlighted his tour by giving a performance on the viola of Camille Saint-Saëns The Swan at a cultural concert in Ulaanbaatar.

While in Kharkhorin, the prince took the opportunity to visit the parents of sumo wrestler grand champion Asashoryu. Naruhito and his daughter, Princess Aiko are fans of sumo wrestling and as part of his toast during a banquet in Ulaanbaatar, Prince Naruhito acknowledged the achievements of two Mongolian sumo wrestlers, Asahoryu and Hakuho.

The only regret for the prince was the absence of his wife, Crown Princess Masako, who is slowly recovering from an ‘adjustment disorder’ that limits her abilities to complete long engagements such as a visit to Mongolia. During the press conference before his tour, Naruhito said, “Princess Masako greatly appreciates the invitation by the Government of Mongolia. She and I both deeply regret that she cannot honor the invitation. This visit involves a long stay and quite a few events that must be attended successively, which the doctors consider may be difficult for her to accomplish. Based on all of this, we have decided that I will visit Mongolia alone.”