Crown Prince attends German Festival

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito has attended the German Festival in Tokyo to celebrate 150 years of friendship between Japan and Germany.

The Crown Prince was welcomed by German President Christian Wulff at the event in Arisugawa Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Crown Prince and Wulff are honorary presidents for a series of events to celebrate 150 years of Japan-German friendship.

In his speech, the Crown Prince thanked Germany for its assistance after the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th.

He said he hopes the ties between Japan and Germany will be further deepened through the various events to mark 150 years of exchanges between the 2 countries.

The Crown Prince and the German president planted a linden tree in the park.

Some 10,000 people, including German residents of Japan, attended the event.

The German president will meet the Emperor at the Imperial Palace on Monday. The meeting will be followed by a luncheon with the Emperor, the Crown Prince and Prince Akishino.

Sunday, October 23, 2011 23:08 +0900 (JST)