The Emperor's message to the people at the beginning of the year, which is usually delivered directly to the general public gathered at the Imperial Palace, will be released in a video message, the Imperial Household Agency announced Thursday.
This decision was made after the New Year Greeting at the palace scheduled on Jan. 2 was canceled because of the novel coronavirus outbreak. It will be the Emperor's first time to send a video message to the public.
In addition to the New Year Greeting, the coronavirus crisis has led to a dramatic decrease in opportunities for the Emperor to interact with the public, adding more importance for him to express his feelings through a video message.
According to a senior official of the agency, the video message will be recorded in advance and released on Jan. 1 or 2. The Emperor is expected to refer to the daily lives of people suffering from the spread of infections.
During the Heisei era, the Emperor Emeritus delivered video messages to the public about the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 and about his duties as the symbol of the state in August 2016.
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