Emperor Akihito & Empress Michiko Current Events Part 4: May 2017 - April 2019


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On July 17th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the practice ship "Nihon Maru" and Yokohama Minato Museum. About 100 seafarers and volunteers released all 29 sails. Currently moored in the Minato Mirai district of Yokohama city, the ship was built in 1930 and used for training purposes for about 55 years. Over 10,000 people practiced on the ship which is expected to be designated an important cultural property.

The Imperial couple also visited NYK Maritime History Museum in Naka-ku, Yokohama and paid respects to a war memorial.

Photos: Mainichi, Asahi, Getty Images

ETA: Jiji also reported they spoke to 91 year old Tomomi Hara, the oldest volunteer and former Nippon Maru deck chief.
 
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Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko departed for the Nasu Imperial Villa yesterday, July 24, and visited a flower farm near the villa later that day:


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Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attends today at the memorial service for war victims in Tokyo

Belga Image
 
Since former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa first mentioned "condolences" in 1993, past prime ministers had always referred to Japan’s aggression in Asia by citing “deep remorse” or offering “condolences” to the Asian countries.

However, for the fifth year in a row, Abe eschewed any mention.

After offering a minute of silence for the war dead at noon, Emperor Akihito in his speech expressed “deep remorse” as he did in the previous two years’ ceremonies.
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Abe promises no more wars but lacks remorse in Aug. 15 speech?The Asahi Shimbun
 
On August 21st, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended the opening ceremony of the 24th Congress of the International Commission for Optics and reception at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Foreword | ICO-24 The 24th Congress of the International Commission for Optics

Imperial Couple attends optics congress | Nippon TV NEWS24 JAPAN
Emperor, Empress to visit remote isles, Kyushu disaster sites in October | The Japan Times
[…]

The tight travel schedule has been arranged to reflect the Imperial couple’s strong desire to visit those areas ahead of the Emperor’s abdication that could take place as early as in December 2018, the sources said.

[…]

The agency is now making arrangements for the Imperial couple’s visit on Oct. 27 to areas hard hit by heavy rain in early July in Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, as they were deeply concerned about the damage brought by the calamity, the sources said.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko had already been scheduled to travel to Fukuoka for three days from Oct. 28 to attend an annual ceremony for maritime resource conservation, but they are now likely to leave Tokyo a day earlier to visit the disaster-affected areas.

During the trip, the couple expects to meet survivors recovering from the devastating storms, to express sympathy and to offer encouragement.

As for the envisioned trip to small islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, the agency is preparing with the prefectural government and local municipal offices to set the travel dates that would take them to Yaku Island and the Amami group of islands, according to the sources.

Among the Amami islets, Okinoerabu and Yoron are likely destination choices since neither the Emperor nor Empress have ever visited these islands. During the trip, which will be conducted in a private capacity, the Imperial couple may meet citizens affected by a volcano eruption on Kuchinoerabu Island in 2015, the sources said.

“It will be a trip to display the Emperor’s thoughts for people on islands, like those expressed in the message last year, before his abdication,” said a senior official of the agency.
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Attestation Ceremony for Vice Ministers | Imperial Family of Japan
On 7th August, HM Emperor Akihito attended the Attestation Ceremony for new Vice Ministers of the Reshuffled Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took place at Imperial Palace.
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On August 22nd, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived at Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture to rest. They will move to Kusatsu-machi, Gunma Prefecture on the 27th for concerts and return to Tokyo on the 29th. On the 23rd, the couple will visit a town where people who withdrew from China and former Manchuria settled. Empress Michiko will participate in a piano workshop in Kusatsu.

Photos: Asahi, Getty Images
 
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On August 23th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited lettuce fields in Dainichi, where Japanese returning from Manchuria settled.
Photos: Sankei, Getty Images
On August 26th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the tennis court where they first met in 1957. They stayed about 30 minutes and watched a match.
Photos: Sankei


ETA: fixed year they met.
 
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Yesterday, August 31, Emperor Akihito received the new US Ambassador to Japan during an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace:


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 **


And here are some more photos of today's meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May:


** gettyimages gallery **
 
On September 10th, Empress Michiko attended the alumni association at Yamato Town Kindergarten in Bunko Ward. She attended the kindergarten for about a year and has attended several alumni meetings. The Empress stayed for about an hour and 20 minutes.

Video: news24.jp

On the evening of the 13th, Emperor Akihito harvested 100 shares of "Mangetsu mochi" and "Nihon Masari" rice. According to the IHA, this year's yield is average and part of the rice harvest will be dedicated to Ise Shrine.

Photos: Asahi
 
On September 16th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko appreciated the "Takeji Fujishima Exhibition: The 150th Anniversary of His Birth" at the Nerima Art Museum. The exhibit features about 160 items including his masterpiece "Lady with Morning Glory."

Photos: Asahi
 
On September 19th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended the 70th anniversary of the Japan Bereaved Family Association held at Meiji Memorial Hall in Minato, Tokyo. The association was founded in November 1947 as a Japanese survivors welfare association. The Imperial couple has attended a memorial ceremony every 5 years after ascending the throne.

Photo: Asahi, Mainichi, Getty Images (updated)
 
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On September 20th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Koma Shrine in Hidaka, Saitama Prefecture on a private trip. Afterward, they strolled a park with Higanbana (spider lily) flowers for about 20 minutes. Tomorrow, the couple will visit the birth place of Eiichi Shibusawa, known as the "father of Japanese capitalism," before returning to Tokyo. Private trips began in 2013 and this is the 8th occurrence.

Photos: Asahi, Sankei, Getty Images (updated)

Emperor Akihito pays visit to shrine for ancient Korean settlers: The Asahi Shimbun
Emperor Akihito on Wednesday visited a shrine dedicated to ancient Korean settlers in a small town north of Tokyo.

Akihito, accompanied by his wife, Empress Michiko, paid respects at Koma Shrine in the city of Hidaka, Saitama Prefecture, as part of a two-day private study trip to the region, palace officials said. Akihito has made short trips to small Japanese towns to learn about local history, traditions and culture for more than a decade.

Nearly 1,800 Koreans settled in the area in the 7th century, and the shrine was established to commemorate their leader.

Akihito, 83, listened intently, sometimes asking questions, as the 60th head priest escorted the couple and explained the history of the shrine and the region.

Akihito has noted an ancient Japanese document citing a link between the Japanese monarchy and Korea's Goguryeo dynasty, as he expressed friendship with South Korea.

[...]
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On September 21st, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Shibusawa Memorial Museum, on the site of Shibusawa Eiichi's former residence, in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture.

Photos: Sankei, saitama-np.co.jp, Getty Images
 
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On September 30th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended the opening ceremony of the 72nd National Sports Festival in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture.

Getty Images, Asahi
 
On October 1st, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited cultural property Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama. The three-story main building was rebuilt in 1894 and has a bathroom exclusively for the Imperial family. Emperor Showa bathed there in 1950. The building will undergo longterm seismic retrofitting work next year. The Imperial couple watched a kendo competition at the prefectural Budokan and flew back to Tokyo.

Photos: Asahi, Asahi 2, Sankei
https://twitter.com/x/status/914461180974043137
 
On October 8th, Empress Michiko attended a concert benefiting the 2011 Earthquake victims at Hamarikyu Asahi Hall in Tsukiji, Tokyo. She was seated next her friend Mr. Kurozaka who is the husband of Ms. Yaguchi, a wooden flute musician at the concert.

Photos: Asahi, Sankei
 
Donald Trump to meet Japanese Emperor Akihito in Tokyo
President Donald Trump will meet Japanese Emperor Akihito when he visits Japan in November as part of an Asia trip that will also take him to China, Vietnam, South Korea and the Philippines.

Mr Trump will meet the Japanese emperor on November 6 after seeing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to several sources, including a former US official and another person in Tokyo with knowledge of the plans. [...]
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Photos and video for Empress Michiko's 83rd birthday on the 20th:
Mainichi gallery

IHA reported she performed 338 events the past year. [Asahi]

Longer 1:42 video at Mainichi 2
Empress Michiko turns 83, calls ICAN's Nobel Peace Prize meaningful | The Japan Times
On the occasion of her 83rd birthday Friday, Empress Michiko welcomed the award this year of the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons as a meaningful development in efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.

[...]

“I feel it is most significant that, owing to the efforts of the atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki over many long years, the world seems to have finally turned its attention to the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and the horrifying consequences once they are used,” she said in a statement.

She also touched on Japan’s “complicated” position on the nuclear arms issue as the country relies on the nuclear deterrence provided by the United States.

“At the same time, I hope that the people of the world will take more notice that the hearts of Japan’s atomic bomb survivors have never been directed towards retaliation, which sets off a chain of more fighting, but towards the pursuit of a peaceful future,” the Empress said.

[...]

With regard to the enactment in June of the law to allow Emperor Akihito to abdicate, the Empress said she is “profoundly grateful” for the people who paved the way for his retirement.

“It means that His Majesty, after having devoted Himself for so many years to pursuing the role of the Emperor as the symbol of the State, will now, in His advancing years, be able to spend some days of calm and quiet,” the Empress said. That prospect “gives me an immeasurable sense of relief,” she added.

The Empress also wrote that her travels with the Emperor across the country in their official capacity have become deeply emotional given the limited time remaining before the emperor relinquishes his throne.

“The beauty of each place struck me even more deeply than usual as I traveled around the country,” she said.
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Full text and birthday agenda at Press Conferences on the occasion of Her Majesty's Birthday (Written Answers) (2017) - The Imperial Household Agency

CP Naruhito, CP Masako, Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko, and Princess Mako arriving at the Imperial Palace on October 20th to give birthday greetings to Empress Michiko:
http://www.sankei.com/images/news/171021/prm1710210013-p8.jpg
http://www.sankei.com/images/news/171021/prm1710210013-p10.jpg
http://www.sankei.com/images/news/171021/prm1710210013-p12.jpg

Princess Aiko and Prince Hisahito arriving at the Imperial Residence to give their 6:30pm greetings:
http://www.sankei.com/images/news/171021/prm1710210013-p9.jpg
http://www.sankei.com/images/news/171021/prm1710210013-p11.jpg

Sankei Imperial Weekly #509
 
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On October 23rd, Emperor Akihito met with Micronesian President Peter Christian.

Getty Images
 
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