December 24, 2004
71st Birthday of Emperor Akihito Celebrated
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On December 23, the Embassy of Japan organized a reception to celebrate the 71st birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan at the Ambassador's residence. Among the guests who attended the reception were the Rt. Honorable Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba as the chief guest, Rt. Honorable Tara Nath Ranabhat, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Mr. Bharat Mohan Adhikari, Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Girija Prasad Koirala, former Prime Minister and President of Nepal Congress and Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal, former Deputy Prime Minister and General Secretary of CPNUML.
The cordial relationships between members of the imperial family of Japan and royal family of Nepal were further consolidated by reciprocal visits after the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1956. Their Majesties King Mahendra and Queen Ratna, paid a state visit to Japan in 1960. While in December of the same year, Emperor and Empress of Japan (then Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko) visited Nepal, representing the Emperor and Empress of Japan. The Imperial couple of Japan revisited Nepal in 1975 to attend the coronation of King Birendra. Earlier King Birendra (then Crown Prince) had spent several months in Tokyo as a student. Later, King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya paid a state visit to Japan in 1978 and the flow of royal visits has been continuing there after.
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