Japan’s Emperor, Empress to Visit Netherlands, Belgium in June

The Yomiuri Shimbun

7:00 JST, January 23, 2026

Preparations are underway for the Emperor and Empress to officially visit the Netherlands and Belgium in June, according to sources close to the Imperial household.

This will be the first time in the Reiwa era (2019-) for the Imperial couple to visit two countries in a single trip to deepen goodwill.

According to the sources, the trip will last about 10 days starting from mid-June. Plans under consideration include the Imperial couple meeting and attending banquets with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and King Phillippe of Belgium.

The Imperial family has kept close ties with the royal families of both countries. In 2006, the now Imperial couple visited the Netherlands, partly for the Empress’ recuperation, and stayed at the Dutch royal family’s villa for a while. It will be their first visit to the Netherlands in 13 years since 2013, when they attended King Willem-Alexander’s coronation ceremony.

Belgium will celebrate its 160th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Japan this year. In 1999, the now Emperor and Empress attended the wedding ceremony of King Phillippe, who was then crown prince. If the official visit takes place this year, it will be the Imperial couple’s first visit to Belgium in 27 years.

Since the Emperor took the throne in 2019, the Imperial couple has visited Indonesia in 2023, Britain in 2024 and Mongolia in 2025.