Shawdesh desk:

President M Abdul Hamid will leave Dhaka today (Sunday) on an eight-day official visit to Japan and Singapore.

“The President will attend Japanese new emperor’s enthronement ceremony slated for October 22-24,” President’s press secretary Md Joynal Abedin informed journalist on Saturday, reports BSS.

On the second leg of his two-nation tour, he said, the President will visit Singapore from Oct 25-27.

According to the schedule of the visit, a regular flight of Singapore Airlines carrying the President and his entourage members will take off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka for Singapore this afternoon.

The flight will land at Changi International Airport in Singapore at 7:30 pm local time.

After over a three-hour stopover in Singapore, the President will leave for Japan by another Singapore Airlines flight at 10:50 pm local time.

The flight is scheduled to reach Haneda International Airport in Tokyo at 6:45 am local time on October 21.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Japan Rabab Fatima will receive the President at the airport.

During his stay in Tokyo, the President will attend the Ceremony of Enthronement of new Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the State Hall of Imperial Place at 1:30 pm on October 22.

Japanese Emperor is set to proclaim his enthronement next week in a centuries-old ceremony to be attended by some 2,000 people, including heads of state and other dignitaries from more than 170 countries, Reuters reports.

Emperor Naruhito, 59, acceded to the throne in May after his father, Akihito, became the first monarch to abdicate in two centuries. He is the 126th monarch according to Japan’s traditional order of succession.

On October 23, President Hamid will visit Yokohama, Japan’s second largest city.

Kosovo President Hashim ThaOi will call on his Bangladeshi counterpart at Hotel New Otani in Tokyo the same day.

Abdul Hamid will also attend the banquet to be hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Hotel New Otani.

On his way back home, the President will make a two-day stopover in Singapore.

The President is expected to return home at 11:40 pm on October 27.