The Empress turned 66 on Friday, but no celebrations are scheduled to mark her birthday as the Imperial family is still mourning the passing in June of the Empress Dowager, the Imperial Household Agency said.
The Empress released a statement in response to questions submitted by reporters covering the agency, one of which asked whether any experiences involving the Empress Dowager, who has taken the posthumous title of Empress Kojun, have left a lasting impression on the Empress.
The Empress recounted the time she accompanied the Empress Dowager to the Tama Mausoleum in Hachioji, western Tokyo, and they picked small plums together, shortly after her marriage in 1959 to the then Crown Prince.