Japanese emperor and his family greet flag-waving crowd at the palace for New Year's

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his family greeted throngs of New Year’s well-wishers from a balcony window at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Thursday.

Some shouted “banzai” — “long live” — while others waved small paper Japanese flags.

“I feel for those who are still greatly suffering,” Naruhito said, referring to the quake in western Japan that struck a year ago, as well as flooding and other natural disasters throughout the nation.

Last year, his appearance was canceled at the last minute because of a devastating quake in the Noto Peninsula that killed hundreds of people.

In the royal family’s New Year video message for this year, released earlier in the week, Naruhito showed a beautifully crafted mask from the Noto area, which are worn by drummers who perform in a traditional style called gojinjo daiko.

The emperor's 2021 and 2022 greetings, which attract huge crowds to the palace’s usually cloistered grounds, were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Naruhito also offered prayers for people’s happiness in an appearance that also included his wife Empress Masako and their daughter Princess Aiko.

Aiko, who turned 23 last month, is at the center of a national debate about the rules of male-only succession in the imperial family. Under current law, she will leave the family, once she marries outside the imperial family.

Also standing on the balcony was Emperor Emeritus Akihito, who abdicated in favor of his son in 2019, and his wife Empress Emerita Michiko, as well as Naruhito’s younger brother and his family.

Satoshi Nishoji, who came from Osaka in western Japan and stood in line for five hours to join the crowd, said “I was so happy to see them all because I haven't made it the last five years."

“I want to come next year, too,” he added happily.

After the emperor and his family members waved, the crowd broke into a solemn rendition of the national anthem.

The emperor does not have political power but has symbolic significance for Japan. Historically, World War II was fought in the name of Naruhito’s grandfather Hirohito. Over the decades since Japan’s defeat in 1945, the Imperial Family has advocated peace.

In this year’s statement, Naruhito noted that 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, adding that he was filled with pain thinking about the death and suffering that remain in war-torn areas.

“I truly feel the need for people to accept our differences so we may work together, hand in hand, toward realizing world peace,” he said.

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Japan's Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech as Empress Masako stands next to him during a public appearance for the new year's celebrations with their imperial families at the Imperial Palace, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

Japan's Princess Aiko waves at well-wishers from the balcony during a public appearance for the new year's celebrations with her imperial families at the Imperial Palace, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

Japan's Emperor Naruhito, from left, waves with Empress Masako and Princess Aiko to well-wishers from the balcony during a public appearance for the new year's celebrations with his imperial families at Imperial Palace, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

Japan's Emperor Naruhito waves to well-wishers from the balcony during a public appearance for the new year's celebrations with his imperial families at Imperial Palace, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

Emperor Emeritus Akihito, right, and Empress Emerita Michiko greet well-wishers from the bullet-proofed balcony during a public appearance for New Years's Day with his imperial families at Imperial Palace Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

Well-wishers attend a public appearance for the new year's celebrations at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool Photo via AP)

Japan's Emperor Naruhito waves with Empress Masako to well-wishers from the balcony during a public appearance for New Year's Day with his imperial families at Imperial Palace, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

Japan's Empress Emerita Michiko, from left, Emperor Emeritus Akihito, Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, Princess Aiko, Crown Prince Akishino, Crown Princess Kiko and Princess Kako wave at well-wishers during a public appearance for New Year celebrations at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool Photo via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.

Meanwhile, along the northern border with Belarus, Ukraine recorded “rather unusual” activity on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram on Saturday. Without elaborating, he said activity was seen on the Belarusian side of the border and that Ukraine would act if matters escalated.

“We are closely documenting and keeping the situation under control. If necessary, we will react,” he said.

Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, has allowed Russia to use its territory as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine and to host some of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons.

On Ukraine's Black Sea coast, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in the city of Odesa. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless air assaults since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. U.S.-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraine’s offer of a ceasefire, and in recent weeks the Iran war has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.

Meanwhile, on the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, Russia claimed Saturday it had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

It was not possible to independently verify the battlefield claims, and Ukraine did not immediately comment.

In Russia, local officials in the Krasnodar region said that a fire that broke out Friday following a Ukrainian strike on an oil terminal in the Black Sea city of Tuapse was put out on Saturday.

Ukrainian drones have hit the oil refinery and export terminal in Tuapse on four occasions in just over two weeks, sparking fires that prompted local evacuations and sent up massive plumes of smoke.

Ukraine has escalated its long-distance strikes against Russian oil facilities in an effort to slash Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

FILE - In this image taken from video released by Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev's Telegram channel, smoke rises after a drone attack on the oil refinery and terminal in Tuapse, Russia, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev Telegram channel via AP, File)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)