Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the Grand Shrines of Ise in Mie Prefecture on Thursday to report his upcoming abdication to the ancestral deities of the Imperial family enshrined there.
The couple have been on a three-day trip to Mie Prefecture since Wednesday. It will be their last trip to a region outside of Tokyo during the Emperor's reign.
The Emperor, clad in a morning suit, and the Empress, wearing a long dress, offered prayers at the shrine during the Shinetsu no Gi ritual, one of a series of rituals held for the Imperial succession.