Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended an annual lecture to mark the new year, which this year covered such topics as administrative law, material science innovations and plant genetics research, at the Imperial Palace on Thursday, the Imperial Household Agency said.
Hiroshi Shiono, a professor emeritus of law at the University of Tokyo, Junjiro Kanamori, director of the International Institute for Advanced Studies and an expert on material science, and Koichiro Tsunewaki, president of Fukui Prefectural University and an expert on genetics, gave lectures at the event, called Koshohajime-no-gi.
Other members of the Imperial family, including Crown Prince Naruhito, were also present at the ceremony. But Crown Princess Masako, who gave birth last month to the couple's first baby, Princess Aiko, was absent.