Aquino welcomes Imperial Couple

NO LESS than President Aquino has acknowledged that in Japan and its people, Filipinos have found “steadfast partners and friends in the truest sense of the words,” according to Malacañang.

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. Sunday formally announced that Mr. Aquino would lead the nation in welcoming Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko as they begin a five-day state visit tomorrow (Tuesday).

“The visit of Their Majesties is significant as this year, 2016, is the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Japan,” Coloma said in an interview over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.

The close ties between Manila and Tokyo are “concretely manifested by Japan’s being the largest contributor of official development assistance to the Philippines,” he added.

Coloma also cited the north Asian country for being “one of the leading international advocates of the peace process in Mindanao.”

“Moreover, Japan has provided significant assistance to the [Philippines] in terms of providing urban transportation and in providing relief to calamity victims,” he said.

Coloma said that on a personal note, Mr. Aquino “recalls that when he accompanied his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, during her visit to Japan in 1986, Emperor Akihito’s father, the late Emperor Showa, conversed with him and advised him to take care of his parent.”

Malacañang earlier called the Imperial Couple’s trip a “major highlight and fitting start” to the 60th anniversary celebration of the forging of diplomatic ties between the two Asian nations.