King Kaie III's Visit: Oct. 19–22 Itinerary Announced, Signing Set for Expanded Appraisal Pact

The Foreign Ministry formally announced on the 16th the four-day itinerary, as previously reported, for the state visit of King Kaie III of Rukai, 34, running from the 19th to the 22nd. He is to arrive via the Haneda Air Route on the afternoon of the 19th, hold an arrival press conference, and then pay a courtesy call on Mayor Motoko Ukai. Known as the "streaming king" for broadcasting his own coronation and popular among Tokei's younger residents, Kaie III is expected to refrain from unofficial streaming during this visit. He departs on the morning of the 22nd.

The centerpiece of the visit is a signing ceremony on the 20th. Hinokuni and Rukai will sign a revision expanding their existing drift-object appraisal cooperation pact to formally institutionalize reciprocal training for appraisal personnel. As previously reported, the roughly three-week preliminary dispatch of technicians Hajime Umezu and Kasumi Hiwada, beginning around Nov. 10 and received on the Hinokuni side by Seiichi Minowa, is an early implementation of this revision, and all three are expected to attend the signing. Deputy Director Manon Kailea of Rukai's Collection Agency, who has served as Rukai's point of contact, will also be present.

Following the signing, Kaie III will tour the Third Appraisal Center. As previously reported, individual holdings, including window-drift objects, will remain undisclosed, and the tour will be limited to an explanation of how the storage facility operates. A Foreign Ministry source said, "Disclosing an individual item is the same as showing something not yet appraised. Royal blood or not, we're not making exceptions to procedure."

On the 21st, a visit is planned to Window 1, "the Lit City," which has drawn attention over the light procession and recorded sound previously reported on the 8th and 11th. As a courtesy for a state guest, the visit will use the publicly accessible viewing area rather than the restricted observation zone. The Dimensional Survey Division commented, "Letting someone view the window and investigating what's on the other side of it are two different jobs. We won't let the visit affect the research." Rukai is known as the only nation whose royal family carries drifter blood, and Kaie III often quotes his great-grandmother in speeches; a Foreign Ministry source said word has reached them informally that he is looking forward to seeing the Lit City with his own eyes.

Security will follow the arrangement previously reported on Sept. 30, with part of the detail handled by the Tokei Sword Bearers' Association as a traditional duty, and covert patrol officers assisting with nighttime escort. The Metropolitan Police and the Imperial Household Agency described it as "the same kind of operation as the final round of Wall Racing," saying no particular expansion in scale is planned.

The ministry also disclosed on the 16th that resident representatives of Hekikai Isles, Rukai's neighbor, have been invited to a reception following the signing ceremony on the 20th. As previously reported on the 12th and 13th, Hekikai Isles has formally requested cooperation on dispatching appraisal personnel to Hinokuni, modeled on the Rukai framework. "We can't treat Hekikai as an equal partner before the Rukai framework is settled, but we welcome their interest," the ministry said, drawing a line that the invitation is not itself a promise of expanded cooperation.

Yuichi Amamiya, 55, a councillor at the Foreign Ministry's International Cooperation Bureau, said, "Following the interim agreement on the Window Treaty reported on the 15th, I want this visit to move individual cooperation items forward one at a time. Negotiating without hiding that we're caught in the middle — that's the same here as everywhere else."