Japanese Princess Kako arrived in Peru on Friday. Her official state visit commemorates 150 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In 1873, Peru established political relations with Japan. The countries signed a treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation. Peru was the first Latin American country to accept Japanese immigrants. About 200,000 Japanese-Peruvians reside in Peru today.
Princess Kako is a niece of the Emperor Naruhito of Japan. As a member of the Japanese imperial family, the 28-year-old Kako occasionally performs official state duties.
In her second-ever official foreign visit, Kako planned to spend six days in Peru. She led a ceremony to celebrate the friendly relations between Japan and Peru.
The trip included visits to several of Peru’s landmark sites. On Sunday, Kako arrived at Cuzco. That Andean city was the capital of the Inca Empire between the 15th and 16th centuries. From there, the princess headed to Qoricancha. The site is also called “the Golden Temple.” The Incas considered it the most important temple in the region.
While in the current capital of Lima, Kako visited a school for students with hearing loss. According to The Japan Times, she used Peru’s Spanish sign language to greet the students. Kako has worked part-time for the Japanese Federation of the Deaf since 2021. According to the Japanese embassy in Peru, Kako attended speech competitions among deaf students in Japan, where she also gave speeches in sign language.
Japan is Peru’s fourth largest trade partner, after China, the United States, and the European Union. There are seven Japanese mining companies operating in Peru. The Latin American country is the world’s second largest producer of copper.
Many countries (and people!) around the world behave badly toward one another. But these two old allies make efforts to remain friendly.
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. — Proverbs 18:24
