Is this sentence correct? courtesy/honorific use of the passive > > > "The prime minister visited Europe and met the presidents of various countries". is as this to link the phrase right? Why use "" as if it were a normal sentence? Wouldn't it be "" or "" as a normal passive sentence? Are Honorific/Courtesy sentences treated as if they were normal sentences even though they are conjugated using the passive form in the verbs?

Yes, the sentence is perfectly correct. The auxiliary () / has four meanings: (passive), (honorific), (potential), and (spontaneous). Here in your example, it is used as honorific.

> **** ****

is not the passive voice, but the honorific speech () of:

> **** ****

Which _literally_ means:

> The prime minister **visited** Europe and **met** the presidents of various countries.