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.
