King Kaie III's State Visit: Security and Protocol Arrangements Move Into High Gear
With just under three weeks left before King Kaie III, 34, of the Kingdom of Rukai arrives on the 19th for his first state visit since his coronation, working-level coordination among the Foreign Ministry, the Imperial Household Agency and the Metropolitan Police Department moved into high gear by the 30th. Alongside the central agenda item — fleshing out the mutual appraisal-training program — security planning is nearing agreement to include the Tokei Sword Bearers' Association, in its traditional role, as part of the honor guard.
As previously reported, King Kaie III of the Kingdom of Rukai, 34, will make his first state visit since his coronation from Oct. 19 through 22. With roughly two weeks having passed since the dates were confirmed, working-level coordination among the Foreign Ministry, the Imperial Household Agency and the Metropolitan Police Department moved into high gear by the 30th, sources said. A Foreign Ministry source said, "The plan is to firm up both the protocol and the security frameworks within the coming week."
The central focus of the visit remains fleshing out the mutual appraisal-training program, the centerpiece of the previously reported expanded appraisal cooperation agreement. The advance team led by Rukai's Salvage Bureau Deputy Director Manon Kailea, 48, has continued talks with the Third Appraisal Center since arriving in mid-September, with a plan on the order of a dozen-plus trainees a year and roughly three-month terms taking shape as the likely framework, as previously reported. A smaller advance dispatch of two or three people for roughly three weeks starting around Nov. 10 is also nearing its outline, previously reported, with a formal announcement expected in early October. The king's visit is positioned ahead of that fuller program.
The police and the Imperial Household Agency are nearing final coordination on assigning part of the honor-guard duties to the Tokei Sword Bearers' Association. As previously reported, guarding dignitaries is one of the sword bearers' traditional roles, and sword bearers were posted around the venue as large-event security during the wall-racing league's final round on the 18th. An association representative said, "Guarding without drawing — that's how it always is. There's no special form just because it's a state guest," indicating the same posture will apply as usual. Specific staffing numbers and routes will not be disclosed.
On the scope of live coverage for court ceremonies, the broad framework set in mid-September — official events broadcast live, unofficial events kept private — remains unchanged following today's coordination, officials confirmed. An Imperial Household Agency source said, "The debate over broadcast scope, which had been stalled, has settled down since the broad framework was set. What's left is technical detail."
The specific times for the courtesy call on the city's mayor and the joint press conference are expected to be released as early as next week, with a Foreign Ministry source saying, "We'd like to release the full visit schedule together with the formal announcement of the advance dispatch."
Interest in Kaie III — known as the "Streaming King" for broadcasting his own coronation — has already been building among Tokei's younger residents. A shopping-district figure in the bay area, noting that roughly one in eight of Rukai's citizens works in salvage appraisal, said, "Having the king of a drift-object nation visit right after our Arrival Remembrance Day feels like exactly the kind of coincidence this city gets."
