Newsfrom Japan
Sep 16, 2025 17:12 (JST)
Tokyo, Sept. 16 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Emperor Naruhito met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.
According to the Imperial Household Agency, this was the first meeting between the Emperor and Vucic, who is visiting Japan for the World Exposition in the western city of Osaka.
During the 25-minute meeting, Vucic said the Serbian people have strong memories of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko visiting the former Yugoslavia in 1976. The former Emperor and the former Empress, the parents of the current Emperor, were Crown Prince and Crown Princess at the time.
In response, Emperor Naruhito expressed his pleasure at the strong Japan-Serbia relations, referring to buses that were provided by the Japanese government and were in service for many years in Belgrade, Serbia’s capital, and Dragan Stojkovic, a famed Serbian soccer player, who excelled in the Japan Professional Football League, or J.League.
Vucic invited Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to visit Serbia, according to the agency.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]