Japanese emperor and his family greet flag-waving crowd at the palace for New Year's

TOKYO — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his family greeted throngs of New Year’s well-wishers from a balcony window at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Thursday.

Some shouted “banzai” — “long live” — while others waved small paper Japanese flags.

“I feel for those who are still greatly suffering,” Naruhito said, referring to the quake in western Japan that struck a year ago, as well as flooding and other natural disasters throughout the nation.

Last year, his appearance was canceled at the last minute because of a devastating quake in the Noto Peninsula that killed hundreds of people.

In the royal family’s New Year video message for this year, released earlier in the week, Naruhito showed a beautifully crafted mask from the Noto area, which are worn by drummers who perform in a traditional style called gojinjo daiko.

The emperor's 2021 and 2022 greetings, which attract huge crowds to the palace’s usually cloistered grounds, were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Naruhito also offered prayers for people’s happiness in an appearance that also included his wife Empress Masako and their daughter Princess Aiko.

Aiko, who turned 23 last month, is at the center of a national debate about the rules of male-only succession in the imperial family. Under current law, she will leave the family, once she marries outside the imperial family.

Also standing on the balcony was Emperor Emeritus Akihito, who abdicated in favor of his son in 2019, and his wife Empress Emerita Michiko, as well as Naruhito’s younger brother and his family.

Satoshi Nishoji, who came from Osaka in western Japan and stood in line for five hours to join the crowd, said “I was so happy to see them all because I haven't made it the last five years."

“I want to come next year, too,” he added happily.

After the emperor and his family members waved, the crowd broke into a solemn rendition of the national anthem.

The emperor does not have political power but has symbolic significance for Japan. Historically, World War II was fought in the name of Naruhito’s grandfather Hirohito. Over the decades since Japan’s defeat in 1945, the Imperial Family has advocated peace.

In this year’s statement, Naruhito noted that 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, adding that he was filled with pain thinking about the death and suffering that remain in war-torn areas.

“I truly feel the need for people to accept our differences so we may work together, hand in hand, toward realizing world peace,” he said.