Komazawa University professor Naotaka Kimizuka has praised the ongoing visit to the Netherlands and Belgium by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako as ¡°extremely significant.¡±

The visit to the two European countries as state guests ¡°will be a trip that further deepens the bonds formed over many years with both nations,¡± said Kimizuka, an expert on foreign royal families.

¡°The trip to the two constitutional monarchies, both of which are original members of what is now the European Union, is extremely significant,¡± he added.