Category Archives: Imperial Family of Japan

Imperial Family of Japan

Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko to Attend the 3/11 Memorial in Tokyo

On March 11, 2012, the Japanese government will hold a memorial ceremony in Tokyo in memory of the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit parts of the Tohku region last year.

According to the newspaper, Japan Times, Their Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan will attend the memorial along with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as well as other dignitaries. In a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, stated that the hour-long memorial will be held at the National Theater in Tokyo beginning at 2:30p.m.  Furthermore, “…representatives of the victims’ families will make speeches after a moment of silent prayer.”  The memorial will also be broadcast live on Japanese television.

Source: Japan Times

Photo courtesy of Daylife/AP

Imperial Family of Japan

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan Attends a Poetry Contest Held at the Imperial Palace in Japan

On January 12, 2012, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan along with Empress Michiko, Crown Prince Naruhito and Prince Akishino attended the annual New Year’s Poetry Contest held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

The theme for this year’s reading of “tanka” Japanese poems was “shore.” The Imperial family along with dozens of attendees sat silently inside a large room in the palace, as a choir of several men around a table read each of the 10 winning works in sing-song, dragged-out tones.

Source: Associated Press

Photo courtesy of Daylife/K.Nogi/AFP

Imperial Family of Japan

His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan Invited to Visit Beijing, China

Per the Associated Press:

Beijing has officially invited His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako of Japan to visit China this year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the two countries normalizing diplomatic ties, sources close to bilateral relations said Saturday.

The visit is also aimed at easing anti-Japanese sentiment in China, which remains strong on account of Japan’s past military aggression, and to strengthen relations between the two countries.

If realized, it would be the 51-year-old Crown Prince’s first visit to China, and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s administration intends to consider China’s request carefully, the sources said.

Some in the ruling coalition and the government expressed caution over the invitation, warning of possible anti-Japan rallies if the Crown Prince and his wife were to visit China.

‘Ensuring a welcoming mood for such a visit is indispensable,’ a government source said.

A multitude of obstacles will have to be overcome if the trip is to go ahead, amid lingering tensions between Tokyo and Beijing after a Chinese trawler rammed Japan Coast Guard cutters near the disputed Senkaku Islands in 2010, sparking a major diplomatic row.

In addition, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan lacks strong ties with the Chinese government, unlike previous Liberal Democratic Party-led administrations that had strong political channels with their Chinese counterparts.

Beijing hopes to realize the visit in autumn, so that its timing coincides with the signing of the Japan-China Joint Communique on Sept. 29, 1972, the sources said. The pact normalized diplomatic ties between the two countries

Various events to commemorate the anniversary will be held in Tokyo and Beijing around that time, and the relations between the two nations will hopefully have improved by then, the sources said.

China previously requested a visit by Crown Prince Naruhito in 2002, to mark the 30th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties, and also in 2008, when the Beijing Olympics were held. Neither visit was realized.

Imperial Family of Japan

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan on the Balcony at the Imperial Palace on January 2, 2012 (VIDEO)

Per the Associated Press:

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan waved to cheering New Year well-wishers on Monday, January 2, 2011, and said he shares in disaster-struck nation’s pain as well as hopes for its recovery.

Emperor Akihito appeared on a balcony at the Imperial Palace along with his wife Empress Michiko and their family, as throngs of well-wishers looked on from below, some energetically waving the Japanese flag – a red circle, symbolising the rising sun, in a backdrop of white.

Akihito said he felt sorrow for those who died in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, as well as those forced from their homes because of the nuclear disaster that followed.

The quake and tsunami in north eastern Japan left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant went into meltdown because the tsunami destroyed backup generators. Fully cleaning up and decommissioning the plant is expected to take decades.

‘Last year was a truly distressing year,’ Akihito said in a New Year’s statement. ‘But I hope for recovery, and may this year be a good one, even in little ways, for everyone.’

Akihito holds no political powers and is viewed as a symbol of the nation, unlike his father, the wartime Hirohito, who had been revered as a divinity.

‘I hope that the people’s hearts will always be with the afflicted, and that everyone will persevere and work together to build a brighter tomorrow,’ Akihito said.

To watch a video as well as to view photos please click the links below:

Photo courtesy of Japan Today

Imperial Family of Japan

A 7.0 Earthquake Rocks Tokyo, Japan As H.I.M Emperor Akihito Celebrates the New Year (VIDEO)

To say that the year 2011 was a difficult one for the Imperial family as well as for people of Japan is an understatement and so far 2012 began with a rocky start.

A 7.0 earthquake shook Tokyo, Japan on Sunday as His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito led his country’s New Year celebrations by urging people to work together in rebuilding the nation from March’s quake-tsunami disaster.

The earthquake struck at 2:28pm near Torishima, a northwestern Pacific Island about 560 kilometres south of Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of damage or injury and no tsunami warning was issued.

To read more about the Imperial family’s new year celebrations please click here.  To watch a video of the New Year’s reception at the Imperial palace please click here.

Sources: AFP and the Japan Times

Photo courtesy of: Daylife/Reuters