Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have arrived in Indonesia as part of their first official foreign trip since ascending the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019.
The imperial couple previously traveled to London in September 2022 to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Naruhito and Masako were greeted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and First Lady Iriana at the Bogor Presidential Palace. "I feel very honored because Indonesia is the first destination for the Japanese emperor's bilateral state visit abroad," Widodo said.
The 63-year-old emperor sought to underline the friendship and cooperation of Japan and Indonesia during his week-long trip to the Southeast Asian archipelago. He said Japan's cooperation with developing countries would be key to dealing with global challenges such as climate change, energy, and food.
The Japanese foreign ministry stated the country is also the largest provider of official development assistance to Indonesia.
Naruhito and his wife have been able to immerse themselves in understanding Indonesia's people and culture while also reflecting on its history. "I also sincerely hope that exchanges between young people from both countries will lead to further development of friendly relations between our two countries," he said.
Naruhito and Masako arrived in Jakarta Saturday (June 17) to visit the city's landmarks, including the Jakarta MRT, Indonesia's first subway line financed by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The Japanese emperor was also scheduled to visit Indonesia's heroes' cemetery on Tuesday (June 20) and the Javanese cultural capital of Yogyakarta on Wednesday (June 20). By Thursday (June 21), he plans to go to Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist temple.
Naruhito's trip coincides with the 50th anniversary of the friendship between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose headquarters is located in Jakarta. The friendship was a way of mending ties with ASEAN countries, especially Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, after Japanese forces under his grandfather Hirohito occupied most of their territories from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War.
Emperor Hirohito visited Indonesia in 1962, while Naruhito's father and predecessor Akihito visited the country in 1991.
Indonesia Launches SATRIA-1 Satellite
Meanwhile, Indonesia launched its SATRIA-1 telecommunications satellite on top of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 18:21 Eastern Time Sunday, June 18 (22:21 UTC).
SATRIA-1 ("Satellite of the Republic of Indonesia") is operated by the satellite communication company PSN for the Indonesian government.
According to the Jakarta Post, the $550 million spacecraft was "envisioned to boost connectivity inclusion in the country, providing free internet connection to 150,000 public facilities, including schools, regional government offices and health facilities."
"SATRIA-1 will have a throughput capacity of 150 billion bits per second, three times the capacity of the nine telecommunication satellites that Indonesia currently uses," the report added.
The satellite was launched into geosynchronous transfer orbit and would occupy the orbital slot above Indonesia's eastern Papua region.
SpaceX added the Falcon 9 first stage serving the SATRIA-1 mission flew 11 launches, including four Dragon missions to the International Space Station and four Starlink missions. The rocket landed aboard the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
