Emperor Naruhito who is on state visit in UK by King Charles, attended a Banquet at the Guildhall given by the Lord Mayor and the City of London Corporation on June 26th. Accompanied by  joined by The Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Lord Mayor and The Emperor both made speeches at the end of the banquetEmperor received a grand welcome at the city of London and made a speech.

The Footage is be available on https://www.youtube.com/@NipponTVNews24Japan 
Here is the full text of the speech;

Address by Emperor at the Banquet at Guildhall　on June26 2024

My Lord Mayor,

Your Royal Highness,

Your Excellencies, My Lords, Aldermen, Sheriffs, Chief Commoner, Honoured Guests

I would like to express my profound appreciation to you for hosting me tonight, and for the warm words of welcome from the Lord Mayor.

I had the opportunity of visiting this Guildhall in 1983, when I was studying at the University of Oxford. Also on several occasions, I went into the Guildhall library to peruse the historical records concerning the history of water transport on the River Thames in the 18th century, which I found very useful for my research. I also have fond memories of visiting pubs around here during lunchtime.

Looking back at my irreplaceably precious two years at the University of Oxford, I am reminded of how warmly I was welcomed by the people of this country.

At the beginning of my stay in Oxford, I was not used to handling British currency and found myself using too many notes and collecting too many heavy coins. On one occasion they all fell out of my purse. I was rather upset, but the people nearby joined me in picking up the coins. I was struck by the kindliness of British people and went back to the college with a sense of relief. Today, electronic transactions have become so prevalent in this country that people not only do not use coins but do not even carry wallets with them, making do with credit cards or smartphones. This fact really makes me feel the passage of 40 years.

On the other hand, what feels unchanged on this visit is the warmth of the people of this country as well as the vigour and energy of the City of London. When we look back at the history of the City and Japan, we might start at the dawn of the Meiji era, when Japan was steaming ahead towards modernisation and learning from the United Kingdom - the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.

Japan's first ever railway, connecting Tokyo and Yokohama, was financed by foreign bonds issued in the City. It was pivotal to Japan's subsequent economic development. Today, I am extremely pleased that the connectivity of the markets of the two countries and the collaboration between the local governments are being strengthened, as demonstrated by the "Memorandum of Understanding between the City of London Corporation and Tokyo Metropolitan Government", and that we are seeing further developments in the cooperative relationship with the City, as illustrated by the Lord

Mayors' visit to Japan every year.

Turning to the economic relationship of Japan and the United Kingdom, there are over 900 Japanese firms based in various parts of the UK, playing an important role in the British economy. They comprise a diverse array of businesses covering a range of sectors including automobiles, highspeed railways, precision machinery, ICT, offshore wind power generation, finance, real estate and pharmaceuticals. At the same time, bilateral cooperation on the economy and investment continues to deepen, with the accumulation of about 22 trillion yen or 115 billion pounds worth of direct investment between the two countries.

Such close bonds have been extended to efforts to provide solutions to some of the pressing challenges facing mankind. Today I visited the Francis Crick Institute, a state-of-the-art research establishment in the areas of medicine and bioscience. I was encouraged to hear about the close collaboration between the researchers of both countries to promote the health of people around the world. The visit was also an opportunity for me to reflect on the efforts and achievements of our predecessors, including the discovery of the double spiral structure of DNA by Dr Crick, which gave

rise to such cutting-edge endeavours.

Tomorrow the Empress and I will be visiting the Young V&A, where we will see a special exhibition highlighting the relationship of Japan's nature and folklore with its popular culture, technology and design. We look forward to seeing and feeling firsthand how Japan's culture and art, transcending time and space, is giving inspiration to the children of the United Kingdom and the Japanese children living in the UK, as we interact with the children of both countries.

The people, and the connections between peoples, are what drive our societies forward and create the foundations for exchanges between countries. The citizens of both Japan and the United Kingdom have cherished the connections between people and have made bold efforts to solve a range of daunting challenges, building on the achievements of their predecessors, adopting ideas broadly from nature, science, culture and the arts, and flexibly embracing new technologies.

It will be a source of great pleasure to us if our visit to the United Kingdom can provide a chance for the people of both countries to reconfirm their bonds of friendship and goodwill, underpinned by the longstanding people-to-people connections, as well as an opportunity to pass on to the next generation the leadership role in resolving the challenges common to mankind.

In closing, may I raise my glass to propose a toast to the good health of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, to the continued development and prosperity of the City of London, and to lasting friendship and goodwill between the peoples of the United Kingdom and Japan.

The Lord Mayor and the City of London Corporation!