Japan Emperor Visits Dutch Water Research Institute

Delft, Netherlands, June 17 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Emperor Naruhito, currently on a state visit to the Netherlands, visited Deltares, a water-related research institute in Delft, southwest of Amsterdam, with Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Wednesday.

The Emperor, who studies water issues as his lifework, has long been involved in related international initiatives, such as those of the U.N. Secretary-Generals' Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, together with the King.

Deltares is an independent nonprofit research institute for applied studies on water control and measures against climate change. It is conducting a joint study on river floods with Hokkaido University in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido.

The Emperor and the King inspected an experiment to expose an embankment to high waves generated by an artificial wave-making facility. The waves can reach a height of up to about 4.5 meters.

The Emperor watched with great interest as the waves splashed against the embankment. According to a guide, the Emperor asked questions such as "How do you generate such big waves?"

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]