Click here to read an article at royalblog.nl

At the request of Tokyo’s Governor Shintaro Ishihara, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso has asked Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife, Crown Princess Masako, to represent Tokyo’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. (See also this post.) He has invited them to accompany Tokyo’s bid officials to Copenhagen where the vote on the host for the 2016 Olympic Games will take place on October 2. In the past, the support of heads of state, like Tony Blair for London 2012 or Vladimir Putin for Sochi 2014, has played an important role in bringing the Olympic Games home to their cities. Accordingly, Tokyo’s rivals for the Olympics 2016, Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, are rumoured to have asked their respective heads of state to attend. This is why Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, the head of the Olympic bid committee, has deemed it “absolutely necessary to solicit kind help from the imperial family for the benefit of the Japanese people and for the history of Japan.” Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Denmark, Environment, IOC, Olympics, Prince Naruhito, Princess Masako

Click the image for the photo at Daylife

 Following their visit to Peru, Japan’s Prince and Princess Hitachi have continued their Latin American tour by travelling to Bolivia. After arriving in the Bolivian capital La Paz on Monday night, the royal couple headed to the rural district of Colonia Okinawa on Tuesday where they had lunch with Japanese migrants and their descendants. Colonia Okinawa is a prosperous agricultural centre that was founded by Japanese immigrants. The area was named after the Japanese Okinawa islands, where many of the immigrants came from. After World War II, they were relocated from there with aid from the Japanese government.

The Japanese Okinawa islands, one has to now, had, until the end of the 19th century, been the kingdom Liu-chiu under King Shotai. It was a peaceful group of small islands as one of King Shotai’s predecessors, the wise ruler King Shoshin, had in 1507 decided to abolish all weapons and military in his tiny Pacific state, as he said: “We are too weak to win against an inimical attack, the only result would be a tremendous bloodshed without use.” The first Europeans that came into contact with the people of Liu-chiu, Portuguese merchants, were impressed: “They are very honest. They do not buy slaves, and for nothing in the world would they sell one of their people into slavery. They would rather die. The Malayans say that there is no big difference between people from Liu-chiu and from Portugal, except that the Portuguese buy women which the Liu-chiu people refuse to do.” Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Bolivia, Immigration, Official Visit, Prince Hitachi, Princess Hanako

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Japan’s Emperor Akihito and his wife, Empress Michiko, will leave Tokyo on July 3 in order to pay an official visit to Canada and the US state of Hawaii that will last until July 17. The visit is meant to promote goodwill and friendship between Japan and Canada, the United States and Hawaii and will mark 80 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Canada. Diplomatic relations between Japan and Canada began in 1928 with the opening of a Japanese legation in Ottawa. Canada opened its Tokyo legation in 1929. It was Canada’s first in Asia.

The first leg of the couple’s tour is going to be Ottawa where official events will begin on July 6. The gap between their arrival on July 3 and the start of the official schedule on July 6 is probably owing to the fact that both royals have been repeatedly struggling with health problems during the last years. Emperor Akihito (74) who underwent surgery for prostate cancer five years ago still carries a full load of official duties. In December 2008, he was hospitalised for treatment for internal bleeding. His wife, Empress Michiko (73), the first commoner ever to become Japanese empress, has long struggled with her position in the imperial family, with consequences for her health. She suffered two nervous breakdowns, one shortly after her marriage and another in 1993, supposedly due to the stressful life Japanese royals lead. In February, she sustained a ligament injury in her left knee when she fell while playing tennis at the Imperial Palace. Her doctors said that it will take up to six months for her to fully recover.

In Ottawa, emperor and empress will, among other things, enjoy a state dinner at Rideau Hall with Governor General Michaëlle Jean and her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, before heading to Toronto on July 8. They will travel on to Victoria on July 10. The last leg of their trip to Canada will be Vancouver where they are going to stay from July 12 to July 14. During their visit, they will meet representatives of the Japanese-Canadian community who are supposed to highly anticipate the ‘once in a lifetime’ visit from the emperor. (Article) In fact, in meeting the emperor and talking to him so close, the “Nikkeis” (Japanese born outside Japan) who will welcome him in Canada are being given an opportunity that the vast majority of Japanese can only dream of. Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Canada, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, Official Visit, Pearl Harbour, United States of America

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 On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Peru as well as the 20th anniversary of the Peruvian immigration to Japan, Japan’s Prince Hitachi, along with his wife Hanako, left on Friday for an official visit to Peru. The following day, the couple met with Peru’s Justice Minister Rosario Fernandez and other government and municipal authorities in front of the Japanese Immigration Centennial Monument, where the names of the first 790 Japanese immigrants who arrived at the port of Callao on April 3, 1899 are engraved. The monument was opened on May 29, 1999 by Princess Sayako, currently Mrs Sayako Kuroda. Upon her marriage to a commoner in 2005, Emperor Akihito’s only daughter had to give up her royal status, as is the custom for Japanese princesses.

Prince Hitachi put a flower arrangement on the monument also known as the Friendship Bridge, as it represents this feeling between the two nations. Later in the evening, the royal couple followed an invitation of President Alan Garcia and his wife Pilar Nores to an official reception at the government palace in Lima. (Video) On Sunday the couple met with members of the Japanese community, one of the largest in Latin America, estimated at some 100,000 members. In his speech there, Prince Hitachi said he was “impressed” by the Peruvians’ warm welcome. He praised the work done by the Japanese immigrants and their descendants in Peru and called for a closer relationship between the two countries. The program of the royal couple also included an event at the Japanese-Peruvian Theatre and a visit to the Japanese Immigration Museum.

Click here to see the photo gallery at daylife

Yesterday, the prince and princess continued their goodwill tour of the region with a visit to neighbouring Bolivia in order to mark the 110th anniversary of the Japanese migration to the country. Today, they are scheduled to meet with Bolivian President Evo Morales at a special reception. A formal commemorative ceremony for the anniversary of Japanese immigration to Bolivia will be held on Thursday.

Prince Hitachi, born 1935, is the younger brother of Japan’s Emperor Akihito. He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the Faculty of Science at Gakushuin University in 1958 but he became mainly known for his research on the causes of cancer. He has published articles on the results of his research in the technical journals of the Japanese Cancer Association, as well as of the American Association for Cancer Research. The prince shares his father’s and his brother’s love of marine biology but, not surprisingly, has made fish tumors his own special area of scientific pursuit.

Princess Hitachi was born in 1940 as Hanako Tsugaru, fourth daughter of a former count. After graduating from the Gakushuin Women’s Junior College in 1961, she married Prince Hitachi on September 30, 1964. Princess Hitachi has translated various children books from English into Japanese, the last being “A Guide Dog Puppy Grows up” by Caroline Arnold (published in 2001). Prince and Princess Hitachi have no children.

For current events of Prince and Princess Hitachi see this TRF thread.

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Bolivia, Immigration, Peru, Prince Hitachi, Princess Hanako

Click here to see the photo at belgapicture

According to a report in the Asahi Shimbun, a team of archaeologists have examined artifacts from near Hashihaka, a 280-meter key-hole shaped burial mound, and have discovered evidence that the ancient tomb may belong to Himiko or, in Chinese, Pimiko, the legendary third-century shaman queen of the Yamatai kingdom in Japan. Using radiocarbon dating, the researchers found out that clay fragments from the rim of the mound were made between 240 and 260 A.D., just the time around which the queen is reported by Chinese sources to have died. In addition, an ancient Chinese chronicle, the “Records of Wei“, says: “When Pimiko passed away, a great mound was raised, more than a hundred paces in diameter. Over a hundred male and female attendants followed her to the grave.” And the burial mound, that is situated in the town of Sakurai, near the ancient capital of Nara in central Japan, is, in fact, much larger than other ancient tombs built before or at the same time in Japan. The nearest one in size measures just 110 meters in length. (Article)

The discovery is likely to provoke new debate over Japanese history and the royal family, which the Imperial Household Agency still claims is descended from the mythical sun goddess Amaterasu. Queen Himiko is mentioned several times in records from the Chinese court, with which the Yamatai kingdom had links, but the earliest Japanese sources, compiled in the 8th century, fail to mention her, with but one remarkable exception. Read more…

ChiaraC Historical Royals, Japanese Royals Ancient Tombs, Imperial Household Agency, Queen Himiko, Succession

Click to see the photo at yuko2ch.net

 A former classmate of Princess Kako at Gakushuin Primary School apparently posted an unauthorized photograph of the princess in a diary on the member-based social networking site Mixi. In the following days, the photo was leaked over the Internet. Fourteen-year-old Princess Kako is the second daughter of Prince Akishino, the younger son of Japan´s Emperor Akihito, and his wife, Princess Kiko. According to the source, the photo showed Princess Kako wearing a Gakushuin´s Junior High School uniform and had probably been taken by her former classmate at a school festival or similar event.

The school has reportedly spoken to the boy about the issue. The photo has already been deleted. It has neither been confirmed that the photo actually is of Princess Kako nor is there any official information given on how the boy obtained the photograph.

Click here to read an article at Mainichi.jp

And it is these comments (or non-comments) that make the really interesting part of this piece of news (together with the idea of a photograph of Princess Kako smiling shyly in her school uniform, which is really one of the most innocuous and uncontroversial sights imaginable) as they provide an insight into structures that are quite typical for the way in which public comments on the imperial family are usually handled in Japan. Gakushuin public relations officials as well as Noriyuki Kazaoka, Vice-Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency, refuse to confirm what is already obvious to everybody. Still, in its report the newspaper Mainichi carefully avoids to question their statements, namely that the photo might actually show somebody else than Princess Kako and that it is unknown how the boy got this photo (whomever it might represent). Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Emperor Akihito, Imperial Household Agency, Media, Princess Kako

Click here to see the photo at ANP

 Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan met his future bride Masako Owada first on October 18, 1986. A party had been arranged to celebrate the visit of Princess Elena of Spain; but it was also a way of enabling the heir to the throne to meet a selection of forty eligible young women, among them Masako. The prince was immediately smitten: Masako, a charming, attractive and intelligent Harvard-graduate, had only recently passed the Foreign Ministry entrance exam (as one of only five per cent of those to pass the test that year). She seemed to incorporate everything that he had always wanted from his future partner.

Click here to see the photo at ANP

After the prince had in 1985 come back from his studies in Oxford, he had told a press conference: “My ideal partner should have the ability to boldly speak her mind. Another wish is that she should know a foreign language to a certain degree because we will often meet with foreigners.” The court journalists were a bit at a loss to imagine a Japanese woman matching this picture. But it was known that the prince had a penchant for American actress Brooke Shields whom he enthusiastically praised: “She says things in a clear, fearless way.” (Only to add, with a sad smile: “But, of course, I cannot marry a foreigner…”) Now, he finally seemed to have met a Japanese woman whom he was able to truly love and admire. Masako’s strong-willed nature was combined with a natural knack for diplomacy. “She has the wisdom to adapt herself to any environment,” a classmate said about her. Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Prince Naruhito, Princess Masako, Wedding Anniversary

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 Tokyo’s Olympic bid committee will be soliciting help from Japan’s imperial royal family for its bid campaign that was launched last month by Prime Minister Taro Aso. The final decision about the Olympic host 2016 will be taken by the International Olympic Committee on October 2nd. Tokyo’s committee will make a formal request through the government for Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako to present the city’s bid on the day before.

The request of the Tokyo committee for support from the imperial family has been rendered necessary as rival cities can boast high profile public figures representing their case, including Barack Obama for Chicago and King Juan Carlos for Madrid. Within this context, Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako are probably the very members of the imperial family whose help might increase Tokyo´s chances the most. Ivan Hall, a former professor at the law faculty of Gakushuin University, has once said about the couple: “They are among the more open-minded, liberal people in the country today because of their education and the time they came to intellectual maturity. They represent a monarchy that the whole world can be comfortable with.” Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Olympics, Prince Naruhito, Princess Aiko, Princess Masako

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On Saturday, Prince and Princess Akishino arrived back home from their tour to the Danube countries – Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. In Romania, the fourth and last leg of their journey, the couple paid a courtesy visit to President Basescu on Wednesday and met with Chairman of the Romanian Senate Mircea Geoana and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Roberta Anastase.

On the programme of the four-day visit were also a series of cultural and social events, such as visits to Cotroceni National Museum, the building of the Ministry of Culture, Religious Affairs and National Heritage, the Sinaia Monastery and Peles Castle. The royal couple also planted cherry trees at the Village Museum and met professors and students of the Japanese Section of the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department of the Bucharest University. (Article) Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Prince Akishino, Prince Naruhito, Princess Kiko

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Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko are presently on a two-week goodwill tour of Europe that began in Austria and took them in the following to Bulgaria and Hungary. The fourth and last leg of their journey is going to be Romania. The visits are taking place in order to celebrate the 140th year of Japanese diplomatic ties with Austria and Hungary and the 50th year since Tokyo resumed formal relations with Bulgaria and Romania.

Last Thursday the couple was welcomed by Bulgarian President Georgy Parvanov and his wife Zorka at the Presidential Palace in Sofia. On Friday, the prince and Parvanov were to open a replica of a famous Thracian tomb, funded by the Japanese government. On the royal programme were also visits to the golden-domed Alexander Nevski cathedral in Sofia and the Boyana Church, a UNESCO World Heritage site. At 18th secondary school “William Gladstone” as well as at Sofia University the prince and princess met with pupils, students and lecturers in Japanese studies.

On Saturday, the royal couple were received by Bulgaria’s former king and premier Simeon Saxe Coburg and his wife Margarita (Article) before they travelled on to Hungary where they visited an exhibition of Japanese design in Budapest’s Museum of Applied Arts. (Article) They went to see the Budapest Zoo and the Hungarian Museum of Agriculture on the following day. On Monday they met with Hungary´s President Laszlo Solyom who discussed environmental issues with his guests before presenting them with presents of a Herend porcelain bird and a zither.

Yesterday, Prince and Princess Akishino arrived on the fourth leg of their tour, in Romania, where they were scheduled to visit the Japanese School before meeting with Romanian President Traian Basescu and his wife Maria today at Cotroceni Palace in Romania´s capital Bucharest. (Article) Read more…

ChiaraC Japanese Royals Bulgaria, Hungary, Official Visit, Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko, Princess Masako, Romania, Succession