Japan’s Princess Kako addresses Brazil’s Congress, meets with Lula in presidential palace

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) - Japan's Princess Kako of Akishino, a niece of Emperor Naruhito, was welcomed on Wednesday by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a private ceremony on the latest leg of her 11-day tour of the South American nation.

The younger daughter of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko also addressed Congress and thanked Brazilians for hosting Japanese immigrants for more than a century. Her trip, which started on June 5, marks the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"The efforts of the Japanese who came, and the Brazilians who went to Japan, are deepening our bilateral relationship of friendship,” Kako told Brazilian lawmakers. "I hope that the relationship between the two countries is a long lasting one."

Congress speaker Hugo Motta told the princess he hopes Brazil's ethanol "can help Japan reduce its dependency on fossil fuels."

Brazil has the largest population of people of Japanese descent in the world, estimated at about 2.7 million. About half of those live in Sao Paulo state, official figures show, where the princess last week received the state’s highest honor from Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas.

Emperor Naruhito has no male children, which makes his brother Akishino, Princess Kako's father, the first successor in line. Japan's tradition does not allow women to take the throne.

Princess Kako will arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, where she will visit the Christ the Redeemer statue and a museum of Japanese immigration. The last part of her trip will take place in the city of Foz do Iguacu, where the world famous Iguacu falls are located.