Tokyo - Tens of thousands of people cheered Japan's new Emperor
Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, as their motorcade passed
through Tokyo on Sunday.
Travelling in a black convertible, the royal couple greeted the
public in a parade that took place under bright blue skies along the
4.6 kilometres from the Imperial Palace to another royal residence in
the district of Akasaka, passing Japan's parliament building on the
way.
Naruhito, 59, and Masako, 55, are currently living in the Akasaka
Palace while the Imperial Palace undergoes renovations.
Fans of the Japanese royals greeted the couple by waving
red-and-white flags, while Naruhito and Masako smiled and waved back
at them from their luxury open-top car.
Around 26,000 police officers were on duty to provide security at the
event.
The enthronement parade had originally been scheduled for October 22
but it was postponed in the aftermath of the devastation wrought by
deadly typhoon Hagibis earlier in the month.
The ceremony is the culmination of a series of succession rituals
that began in May, when Naruhito succeeded his 85-year-old father
Akihito.
Akihito's parade in November 1990 saw some 120,000 people turn out.