On October 22, the Ceremony of the Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor (the Sokuirei-Seiden-no-gi) was held at the State Hall (the Seiden) in the Imperial Palace. Foreign heads of State and other dignitaries were invited to this ceremony, and in Japan, in addition to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other dignitaries, we, the Diet members, had the honor of attending the ceremony which was conducted solemnly in line with the ancient ritual. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but in my case, I also had the privilege to attend the Enthronement of the Heisei Emperor in 1990 (Heisei 2), and I was grateful for the good fortune. About 2,000 people were said to have participated in this ceremony.
Though it was raining, the ceremony went very smoothly. Japan started its new era of Reiwa with young Emperor Naruhito.
