Japan Emperor Delivers Speech at U.N. Water, Disaster Event

Jiji Press

17:40 JST, March 23, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Emperor delivered a video speech on water cycle at the Sixth U.N. Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters held at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday.

In the 20-minute keynote speech, the Emperor explained in English how water was related to the development of Edo, the old name for Tokyo, during the country’s Edo period (1603-1868), using ukiyo-e paintings and charts. Ships were used for disaster relief at the time, and they are now drawing attention once again, the Emperor said.

The U.N. conference has been held once every two years since 2013. The Emperor, who has been studying water issues as his lifework, made speeches in person or virtually in the past sessions.