The spectacular ceremony at the Imperial Palace saw world leaders, dignitaries and other guests shouting “Bonzai” three times to mark the occasion, a term with a similar meaning to “long live the king.”
While speaking to journalists, Babiš said he is looking forward to welcoming the new emperor of Japan, his wife Masako and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Prague in the near future.
Babiš represented President Miloš Zeman at the ceremony, saying, “Next year, it will be 100 years since the start of diplomatic relations with Japan, so we would like the Japanese prime minister to come to Prague.” Warm trade relations have led Japan to be one of the largest investors in the Czech Republic and trade is only expected to increase over the coming years.
In Tokyo, the Czech prime minister met with the deputy prime minister of the Sultanate of Oman to primarily discuss continued economic cooperation. According to Babiš, Czech defense companies are interested in selling their products to Oman. Moreover, the Czech Republic is also striving for Oman to open an embassy in Prague and to establish a direct airline between the two countries.
Babiš also negotiated with Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc regarding direct flight service between Hanoi and Prague, which should also begin operations soon.
In addition to meeting Japanese Prime Minister Abe, Babiš will have a bilateral meeting with the Serbian prime minister and the German president to discuss energy issues and the future of Europe.
