Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko returned to Japan on December 8 after a 6-day official trip to Turkey that marked 100 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

They arrived at Haneda Airport around 1PM on a government aircraft.

The crown prince and crown princess met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

They visited historic architectural sites such as UNESCO World Heritage registered mosques.

The imperial couple interacted with university students studying the Japanese language.

They also expressed appreciation to Turkish people who lent a hand to Japanese people during earthquakes and times of war as a marker of international goodwill.