NEWSWORTHY
Emperor, Empress attend their last marine festival during visit to Kochi Prefecture
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived in Kochi Prefecture on Saturday to attend an annual national festival for the protection of fishery resources and the conservation of marine, river and lake environments. Ahead of the Emperor's abdication next April, their participation this year will be ...
Empress Michiko turns 84, wishes for peaceful era after succession
Empress Michiko, on the occasion of her 84th birthday Saturday, expressed her hope that Japan will have a new peaceful era following the Imperial succession next year. "I am confident that, from May of next year, the crown prince will serve the duties of Emperor ...
Emperor and Empress visit those affected by July rains in Okayama
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko made a one-day trip to Okayama Prefecture on Friday and met people affected by the deadly downpours in western Japan in July. The Imperial Couple visited areas hit by torrential rains, which caused widespread landslides and flooding that killed more ...
Emperor, Empress visit Karuizawa tennis court where they first met 61 years ago
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Saturday visited the tennis court in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, where they first met 61 years ago. This is expected to become the Imperial Couple's last visit to the memorable place before the Emperor's abdication in late April next year. While ...
Emperor and Empress to visit disaster-hit prefectures in western Japan
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are considering a visit in September to three prefectures in western Japan that were hit the hardest by torrential rains last month, senior officials of the Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday. The Imperial Couple are hoping to visit Okayama and ...
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are on a three-day tour of Hokkaido in what will probably be their last visit to the island before the Emperor abdicates in April. After arriving at New Chitose Airport on Friday, the couple went to the city of Kitahiroshima, ...
Emperor, Empress cancel summer retreat to Nasu over flood disaster
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have cancelled their planned summer retreat north of Tokyo following last weekend's deadly torrential rain in western Japan, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday. The Imperial Couple's routine stay at an Imperial villa in the town of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, ...
Emperor Akihito, 84, cancels duties due to diagnosis of 'cerebral anemia'
Emperor Akihito has cancelled his public duties after being diagnosed with dizziness and cerebral anemia, a condition of insufficient blood flow to the brain, the Imperial Household Agency said Monday. The Emperor, 84, is set to abdicate next year. According to the agency, the Emperor felt ...
Emperor and Empress attend last national tree-planting event during visit to Tohoku
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended an annual national tree-planting festival, the last such event for the couple, in the tsunami-hit city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Sunday. The ceremony was held at a site in Shidoke, a coastal district where trees are being planted ...
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko met evacuees from the March 2011 tsunami-triggered nuclear disaster on Saturday as they began a three-day visit to Fukushima that was expected to be their last to the region before his abdication next year. The Imperial Couple visited a housing ...
Emperor Akihito welcomes Vietnamese president in what may be his final state banquet
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko welcomed Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang on Wednesday in what may be the final state banquet before the Emperor abdicates next April. Events to show hospitality to state guests, including banquets, are known to have been a great burden for ...
First portrait of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko since enthronement unveiled
The Imperial Household Agency unveiled on Monday the first portrait of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko since their enthronement. The portrait, 2 meters in width and height, was painted by Hiroshi Noda, 81, a master artist and painter specializing in realism. The work depicts the ...
