Barack Obama concluded his two-day visit to Japan – the first country he visited on his nine-day Asian tour.

Courtesy: Yahoo! News

Speaking in front 1,500 people in Tokyo Concert Hall, Obama promised an ‘unshakable’ commitment to Asian security and re-affirmed the alliance between Japan and the United States.

During his speech, Barack Obama touched some lighter topics as well; he shared with the audiences his memories of a childhood visit to Japan and recalled being rather interested in consuming ‘matcha’ – green tea ice cream. He also sent his greetings to the small Japanese fishing town Obama, which was actively supporting his candidacy during the presidential campaign and which now enjoys a booming industry thanks to its famous namesake.

Obama also congratulated the Emperor on the 20th anniversary of his accession to the Throne.

Following his speech, the President had lunch with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Upon arrival, Obama showed his respect for the Emperor with a deep bow, which will no doubt be warmly received in a country where bows are sign of great respect and regard.

The bow however proved controversial outside Japan, where a lot of English-language newspaper sported similar headlines – “How low can he go?” President Obama has already been in a centre of similar controversy, when he allegedly bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, which the White House denied.

Watch the video of Obama being welcomed by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko

Marsel Japanese Royals Bowing & Curtseying, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, Official Visit, President Obama, United States of America

Emperor and Empress watch festives from a bridge. Courtesy - AP

Tens of thousands of well-wishers lined the streets of Tokyo on Thursday to mark the 20th anniversary of Emperor Akihito’s accession to the throne. On November 12, 1990 Emperor Akihito performed the Sokuirei (Ceremony of Enthronement), which marked the official beginning of his reign.

Parades, concerts and speeches by politicians, dignitaries, businessmen, leading athletes and actors marked the colourful festivities that lasted most of the day.

The celebrations started with the memorial ceremony at the National Theatre of Japan, where the Imperial Couple was greeted by the Government officials and dignitaries.

Well-wishers. Courtesy – Zimbio

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama then greeted the Emperor with three cheers of “Banzai!” – the traditional cheer when wishing someone long life.

The parade outside the Imperial Palace featured colourful floats and portable shrines in honour of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

After darkness fell, a crowd gathered in front of the Imperial Palace waving national flags and carrying traditional lanterns. Over 50,000 people gathered for a concert, performed in a garden outside the palace, which featured traditional and modern music. The Imperial couple watched the celebrations from a bridge.

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Marsel Japanese Royals Anniversary, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, Enthronement

HIH Prince Mikasa, the 93-year-old uncle of HIM Emperor Akihito, was admitted to a Tokyo hospital on Friday October 30th after he suffered a minor cardiac arrest.

The Imperial Household Agency (IHA) confirmed the news earlier this weekend. This is the second time in the past eighteen months the Prince has been hospitalised, he was admitted to the same hospital suffering from acute heart failure in June 2008.

Prince Mikasa is the only surviving paternal uncle of the Emperor, being a younger brother of the late Emperor Hirohito. The Prince will celebrate his 94th birthday on December 15th.

JessRulz Japanese Royals Health, Hospital, Prince Mikasa

The Imperial Family Courtesy of yahoo news

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko welcomed 1,699 distinguished guests to their annual Autumn Garden Party at the Akasaka Gyoen garden. Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko, Princess Takamado and Princess Akiko of Mikasa attended the party as well.

The guests included actress Mitsuko Mori, astronaut Koichi Wakata and director Yojiro Takita.  The Emperor broke the rule of never inquiring about a lady’s age and asked Mitsuko Mori: “You’re almost 90, aren’t you?” Mori, however, didn’t appear to mind: she smiled and replied, “Yes, next year”. Mori also spoke of her memories of the night the Emperor was born, when all the sirens in Kyoto sound to announce the birth of the Heir. The Empress, meanwhile, had a conversation with Wakata. The astronaut spoke of his experience of the “perfect darkness” of space – a reference to a poem read by Empress Michiko at the 1997 New Year’s poetry reading. “When I was on the International Space Station, the ‘perfect darkness’ of space seemed to be filled up with dreams and hopes,” he said.

Princess Mako Image from Wikipedia

The Imperial Family has yet more causes for celebration.

October 22 marks the 68th wedding anniversary of Takahito, Prince Mikasa (Emperor Hirohito’s younger brother) and Yuriko Takagi, the daughter of Viscount Masanori Takagi. Prince Mikasa is Emperor Akihito’s only surviving paternal uncle.

On October 23, Princess Mako turns 18. Mako is the elder daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko and the first grandchild for the Emperor and Empress. Mako is currently a student at Gakushūin High School.

Princess Yoko of Mikasa turns 16 on October 25. Yoko is the younger daughter of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa and Nobuko Aso. Prince Tomohito is the eldest son of Prince and Princess Mikasa and Heir to the Princely House of Mikasa-no-miya. Nobuko, Princess Tomohito is the daughter of Takakichi Asō and Kazuko (the daughter of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida), as well as the sister of former Prime Minister Tarō Asō. Princess Yoko has graduated Gakushūin College with a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Relations and has been a practitioner of the traditional Japanese martial art of kendō from an early age.

To learn more about Imperial Family of Japan, visit this thread.

Marsel Japanese Royals Birthday, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, Garden Party, Prince Mikasa, Princess Mako, Princess Yoko

On her 75th birthday, Empress Michiko issued a call for the abolition of atomic weapons and expressed hope that one day we’ll all live in a nuclear-free world.

The Imperial Couple. Courtesy of IHA. Editorial use-only.

The Empress noted: “The horrors of nuclear weapons are not only the magnitude of their destruction but also the serious and tragic effects of radiation that leaves victims suffering long. I think Japan, the country that has been hit by atomic bombs, needs to seek broader and deeper understanding of this in the international community”.

Japan remains the only country in the world to have directly suffered from a nuclear weapon attack: on August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on city of Hiroshima and 3 days later, on August 9, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The combined death toll exceeded 200,000 people, while hundreds of thousands suffered from lasting effects of radiation and burns.

The Empress also spoke of one of the biggest worries of recent times – the economic recession. “Many people lost their jobs and homes, had to give up on higher education or had hiring promises cancelled. This was the most serious concern in this past year,” she said.

To commemorate Empress Michiko’s birthday, the IHA has released series of new pictures; you can see them in this thread.

To learn more about Empress Michiko’s life, read this blog entry.

Marsel Japanese Royals Birthday, Empress Michiko

Michiko's picture from Times online

Michiko Shōda was born on October 20, 1934 to Hidesaburo and Fumiko Shōda. She first attended Futaba Elementary School and then Seishin University, which she graduated with Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Japanese Literature. Michiko also attended courses at Harvard and Oxford Universities.

Her fist encounter with Crown Prince Akihito was quite accidental: the Crown Prince and his friend Kenji Ishizuka played a doubles tennis game against a young French boy and Japanese lady, and to their great surprise, they lost. The young lady was of course Michiko Shōda. The Crown Prince was captivated: he would later say: “I hit the ball and hit it again, but she would always hit it back. No matter what sort of ball she gets she never gives up and tries to hit it back to me. I have lost against her persistence”.

The wedding picture Courtesy of Mad Monarchist

After just handful of meetings, Akihito proposed; however the romance was not without obstacles. Although Michiko came from a wealthy family, she was a commoner and was never considered an appropriate match for the Crown prince: indeed, when the IHA put together a list of 860 eligible candidates (ladies, who were descended from Japanese nobility), she wasn’t even mentioned there. Michiko’s family wasn’t all keen too: they felt the marriage would imprison their bright young daughter in the golden cage of the Palace. Unwilling to impose their will upon their daughter in any way, they sent her on a world trip, which, they hoped, would help Michiko make up her own mind.

The Crown Prince patiently waited till her return and as soon as she was back in Tokyo, resumed their contact. Michiko was deeply touched by his devotion and love, and she finally accepted his proposal in November of 1958 – almost two years after their first meeting. In accordance with the Imperial House Law, the Imperial House Council, headed by the Prime Minister, gave its unanimous consent to the marriage. Dr. Shinzo Koizumi, said of this marriage: “The Crown Prince chose her, and so did we.”

The young and charming couple enthralled the entire nation: their beautiful traditional wedding was like a ray of sunshine for the post-war Japan. Michiko was Japan’s very own Cinderella – a commoner girl, who married the Prince and would become an Empress one day. Unfortunately, fairy tales tend to end with the wedding: Michiko’s problems started after it.

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Marsel Japanese Royals Biography, Birthday, Empress Michiko

picture from Yahoo! News

Although she is better known for her love for gardening and pottery, Princess Aiko proved to be a promising sportswomen-in-making yesterday, after helping her team win a relay race.

As the last member of her team crossed the finish line well ahead of the others, Aiko and the other members of her team run into the field to celebrate their victory. Aiko was a key factor in the victory: she was running second to last and managed to gain a considerable lead, which secured the eventual victory.

picture from Yahoo! News

The relay contest is an annual event of the Autumn Athletic Festival at the Gakushuin school, where Aiko is a student.

Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako were on hand for their daughter’s big day: seated next to other students’ parents, they couldn’t hide their wide smiles as Aiko confidentially crossed the finish line.

For more pictures and information, visit this thread.

Marsel Japanese Royals Prince Naruhito, Princess Aiko, Princess Masako, Sport

click for picture from Kyodo news

On October 14, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended a gathering in Tokyo to mark the 50th anniversary of a convention for Japanese people living abroad. Some 200 people of Japanese descent from 20 counties attended the assembly.

The Emperor stressed the importance of immigrants for helping other countries understand Japan better. He reminded that the history of Japanese emigration had started 141 years ago, when the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii. Prime Minister Yuko Hatoyama’s message was also read during the gathering.

The first convention took place in 1959 and has been held annually since 1962: it is aimed at strengthening solidarity and promoting cultural and personal exchanges between their countries and Japan. Members of the Imperial Family attend the event every year.

Today, over 2.5 million people of Japanese ancestry live abroad, with the biggest Japanese communities formed in the United States, Brazil, Vanda, Australia and Peru. Most of them maintain close ties with their ancestral land.

Marsel Japanese Royals Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, Immigration

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko invited Princess Kiko and little Prince Hisahito to join them for a little sea excursion near the Imperial Villa in the town of Hayama, south of Tokyo. The Imperial Family took a small boat they rowed themselves for the excursion; the boat had been used by Emperor Showa for his research of sea creatures. After they returned, the family proudly watched as 3-years-old Prince Hisahito steadily walked off the boat on a narrow plank: although the little Prince walked unaided, his grandparents, mother and local people all kept watchful eyes on him.

Click to view more pictures from Kyodo

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko then showed their informal side, helping people to bring the boat ashore. Their Imperial Majesties appeared to be in good health and physical form and had obviously enjoyed the excursion. Princess Kiko and Prince Hisahito looked delighted with the family outing as well. Princesses Kako, Mako and Aiko wouldn’t be able to join the family because the school year has already started.

Meanwhile, President Lee Myung-bak expressed hope today that Emperor Akihito will visit Seoul next year on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Japan’s annexation of Korea. President Lee hopes that the visit would help to move Japanese-Korean relationships forward and would be a symbolic gesture to put an end to historical tensions between the two neighbors.

During a press conference, President Lee said: “Korea and Japan have difficulty in improving relations due to the past. Emperor Akihito’s visit to Seoul will have a significant meaning and would show that the countries can leave the past behind and try to develop a future-oriented relationship. The visit would be meaningful, produce positive results, and be a step permanently removing the distance between the two countries. The Emperor has traveled all around the world, but couldn’t visit Korea. I’m confident that Japanese-Korean relations will improve rapidly if he visits Korea”.

Marsel Japanese Royals Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, President Lee, Prince Hisahito, Princess Kiko, South Korea

Prince Hisahito, the third child and only son of Prince and Princess Akishino, turned three on September 6th. Hisahito is the first male child born to the Imperial Family in 41 years and currently holds third place in line to the Japanese Throne, after his uncle and father. Prince Hisahito has 2 older sisters, 17 years old Princess Mako and 14 years old Princess Kako.

click to view full-sized image from Japan Times

Pictures released on occasion of Prince Hisahito’s birthday show him riding a bicycle and later, dressed in traditional Japanese attire. According to reports, the little Prince is a lively boy who enjoys outdoor activities, playing with toy balls and helping with gardening. He is currently 3’1’’ tall and weighs about 30 lbs.

His parents and sisters affectionately call him ‘Yuyu’, ‘Yu-chan’ and ‘Hisahito-Kun’.

Before Prince Hisahito’s birth, the Imperial Family of Japan had been plagued by lack of male heirs. That led to increasingly vocal calls to amend the Imperial Succession Laws so that Princess Aiko, the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, could ascend to the Throne one day. However, with the birth of the male Heir, the calls for Imperial equality have been largely stifled: in 2007, Prince Minister Shinzo Abe officially announced that he would not go forward with plans to alter the succession laws. Since Prince Hisahito’s birth, his parents have acquired a more prominent role in the Imperial Family: as critics note, they are often called to fulfil engagements befitting the Crown Prince and Princess.

You can find more information about Prince Hisahito, including pictures and videos from his birthday, in this thread.

Marsel Japanese Royals Birthday, Portraits, Prince Hisahito, Succession