Thirty years ago on January 23, 1995, Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife, Princess Masako, arrived in the UAE for a four-day visit as part of a Middle East tour that included Kuwait and Jordan. The heir apparent to the Chrysanthemum throne and his wife were welcomed at the airport by late UAE President Sheikh Khalifa, who was the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the time.
During the visit, the Japanese royals toured Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai. On their Al Ain stop, they were taken to the top of Jebel Hafeet and also enjoyed a camel race event and a football match. Crown Prince Naruhito also received the Order of Zayed during a ceremony at Mushrif Palace.
On the third day of the visit, the Japanese royals were in Dubai and were treated to a cruise down Dubai Creek. They were accompanied by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chief executive of Emirates Airlines, and Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, who was the UAE's minister of higher education and scientific research and chancellor of Emirates University at the time.
Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako were photographed on their cruise, visibly enjoying the sights and experience. The crown prince was seen holding his own camera, which he used to chronicle the occasion.
The royal visit came after one of the most devastating earthquakes to hit Japan that displaced more than 300,000 people and killed more than 6,000. The couple began their Middle East tour in Kuwait, saying they had mixed feelings about leaving Japan for the long-planned trip while their country struggled to cope with the aftermath of the earthquake in Kobe.
Naruhito became the emperor of Japan in 2019 following the abdication of his father Emperor Akihito. The emperor and his wife do not have a son, making his brother, Crown Prince Fumihito, the heir apparent to the throne.
The relationship between Japan and the UAE goes back to 1970 when Sheikh Khalifa attended Expo Osaka as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and met Crown Prince Akihito. In 1975, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who was then the Minister of Defence, also met Emperor Hirohito in Tokyo.
In 2022, the two countries celebrated 50 years since the start of the relationship, which started officially on May 4, 1972. According to a report released by the Japanese Embassy in Abu Dhabi, more than 4,400 Japanese people live in the UAE, their largest group in the Middle East and North Africa.
The report also says that by 2020, there were more than 340 Japanese companies operating in the UAE, showing the robust economic connection between the two countries. Today, UAE citizens enjoy visa free travel to Japan, where they can indulge in the many aspects of Japanese culture that have become popular, including food, anime and traditional crafts.
