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


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Status
Not open for further replies.
More for June 9: Getty Images, Asahi

Imperial Couple visiting Fukushima to attend tree-planting ceremony, meet evacuees - The Mainichi
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko left Tokyo on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line on June 9 for Fukushima Prefecture where they will attend a tree-planting ceremony and meet residents of disaster-hit areas who were forced to evacuate.

[…]

Later on June 9, the Emperor and the Empress will meet people who were forced to evacuate following the disaster and are living in public housing in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Iwaki as evacuees.

[…]
Click to expand...
Reception and hula dance:
Departure at Tokyo Station
 
Last edited:
Emperor, empress meet evacuees from Fukushima nuclear disaster - The Mainichi
[...]

"I imagine you all are going through a lot of difficulties, but I hope you overcome them and make good lives here," the Emperor said as he sat down with some of the residents.

Satomi Yamauchi, 58, who greeted the imperial couple at the housing complex, said, "I was filled with deep emotions when the empress asked me if I was settling in okay. Her kind words touched my heart."

The emperor and the empress also watched a dance performance by the Hula Girls at Spa Resort Hawaiians, a Hawaiian-style spa leisure complex in Iwaki. The hula dancers came to be seen as a symbol of recovery [...] they toured the nation performing dance shows while the spa facility was closed for six months because of earthquake damage.

[...]
Click to expand...
On June 10th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended the 69th Tree Planting Festival in Minamisōma, Fukushima Prefecture.

Photos: Asahi, Asahi 2, Sankei

Emperor and Empress, during visit to Tohoku region, attend their last national tree-planting event | The Japan Times
[...] At the beginning of the 69th national tree-planting festival, the Imperial couple and other participants offered silent prayers for victims of the March 2011 giant tsunami triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that mainly struck Fukushima and two other prefectures in the Tohoku region.

The Emperor and Empress planted saplings of six species, including Japanese black and red pines, and sowed seeds of four species of trees.

The couple watched saplings of Chinese hackberry being planted at the site. The hackberry saplings were grown from seeds collected at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and passed from Nagano Prefecture to Toyama Prefecture and then to Fukushima as a symbol of post-disaster reconstruction.

[...]

Earlier on Sunday, the Imperial couple [...] traveled to Minamisoma from the city of Iwaki via the Joban Expressway.

While traveling on the highway, their car passed a no-go zone set up after the nuclear disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 power plant.

The vehicle slowed down when it passed a point 5.8 km from the damaged plant. The power station could not seen from that location, but the Emperor and Empress looked intently in the direction of the plant, according to officials of the Imperial Household Agency.

The couple stopped over at a toll facility on the expressway in the town of Hirono and held talks with residents of Hirono and the town of Naraha.

“I hope your town will become livelier,” the Empress told Airi Nemoto, 17, a third-grade student at Futaba Future High School in Hirono.

“I want you to help brighten up the town of Naraha,” the Empress told 14-year-old Kosuke Aota, a third-grader at Naraha Junior High School.

In Minamisoma, the couple paid their respects at a monument bearing the names of 25 victims of the March 2011 tsunami in the Shidoke district.

[...]
Click to expand...

On the evening of the 10th, Empress Michiko developed a fever from overwork and remains feverish this morning. She wants to visit the cenotaph for tsunami victims in Soma as planned; Emperor Akihito will attend other events solo.

Sources: Asahi, Jiji

Wishing Her Majesty a speedy recovery! Please rest!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Prisma said:
On the evening of the 10th, Empress Michiko developed a fever from overwork and remains feverish this morning. She wants to visit the cenotaph for tsunami victims in Soma as planned; Emperor Akihito will attend other events solo.

Sources: Asahi, Jiji

Wishing Her Majesty a speedy recovery! Please rest!
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear this, and wish her good health. This seems to be yet another demonstration that the abdication is coming none too soon.
 
The fever improved so Empress Michiko attended June 11th's events as planned: cenotaph, Yuji Koseki Memorial Hall, and reconstructed fishery facility.

Photos: Getty Images, Asahi, Sankei

Emperor, Empress pay respects to tsunami victims - News - NHK WORLD - English
[...] The Emperor and Empress left white chrysanthemum flowers at a monument for the victims. They met the bereaved families of volunteer firefighters who died in the tsunami while trying to lead people to safety.

The Emperor talked with a mother who lost her 30-year-old son. He said she must feel lonely, having lost a son who was in the prime of his life.

The Empress consoled another mother, saying her son had been trying to save many people.

The Imperial couple also visited a reconstructed facility at a fishing port. The Emperor asked the women working there about varieties of fish. The Empress expressed sympathy for their hardships and efforts to rebuild their community.

[...]
Click to expand...
1,300 people welcomed the Imperial couple with lanterns in Soma for the Tree Planting festival on the 10th. They gathered near the hotel where the couple were spending the night. Emperor Ahikito later sent his thanks and wishes for continued reconstruction progress via IHA to a Fukushima Prefectural official. [Jiji]
https://www.jiji.com/news/photos/photo_news/images/658/0027296282.jpg
 
Last edited:
On June 24th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Nemunoki-no-niwa Garden, the site of the former Shoda residence, in Shinagawa, Tokyo. About 170 people greeted Their Majesties' arrival around 5pm; the couple strolled the garden for 20 minutes.

Photos: Asahi, Getty Images
 
Last edited:
On June 29th, Empress Michiko attended the 50th anniversary celebration of the Asian Women's Friendship Association at the ANA Intercontinental Tokyo hotel. The association was founded in Japan in 1968; 26 countries of Asia and Oceania are currently members. Every year the association hosts a charity bazaar, mainly by the wives of Ambassadors to Japan, to encourage goodwill among nations. It also works on educational support and disaster relief in each country.

Photos: Sankei, Kyodo
 
Last edited:
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit Shizuoka Prefecture privately July 9-10th.
July 9: art gallery at Nemunoki Gakuen, a physically handicapped child care facility in Kakegawa city, established by actress Mariko Miyagi.
July 10: Hamamatsu city foreign learning support center and musical instruments museum

Private trips began in 2013 according to the wishes of Their Majesties; this will be the 9th trip.

Source: Mainichi
 
Last edited:
:previous: More details from Emperor Akihito to take rest from duties after morning dizziness, nausea - The Mainichi
[...] According to the agency, at around 4 a.m. on the morning of July 2, Empress Michiko called the court physician because the Emperor was sweating profusely. He was examined, but was not found to have a fever. Emperor Akihito will take a rest from his duties on July 2, after which his schedule for July 3 and after will be decided depending on his condition.

[...] only the Empress met with [Princesses Hisako and Ayako], passing on words of congratulations in place of the Emperor, the agency reported.

Emperor Akihito's planned meeting this afternoon with the Ambassador of Qatar and his wife has been postponed to a later date.
Click to expand...
Wishing Emperor Akihito a speedy recovery!
 
Last edited:
Emperor Akihito continues to rest on the 3rd. Since dizziness and nausea the day before, he has mild abdominal pains. Empress Michiko received the general affairs section manager of the Imperial Palace for an audience alone. Luncheon with lawmakers is postponed.

Sources: Asahi, Sankei

ETA: Emperor's public schedule canceled for 2nd day due to dizziness, stomachache - The Mainichi
The nausea subsided on July 3 but his dizziness persisted, and the stomach discomfort emerged as a new symptom.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
On the evening of July 3rd, Empress Michiko attended the closing reception of the 64th Zonta International Convention held at the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel in Yokohama. Zonta was founded in New York, US in 1919 to improve the status of women and currently has around 30,000 members worldwide. The organization holds a convention every 2 years; this is the first time in Asia. About 150 people attended and the Empress met Susanne von Bassewitz, president of Zonta International.

Sources: Sankei, Jiji

https://www.jiji.com/news/photos/photo_news/images/658/0027560681.jpg
https://www.jiji.com/news/photos/photo_news/images/658/0027560684.jpg

ETA: Getty Images
 
Last edited:
Prisma said:
Emperor Akihito continues to rest on the 3rd. Since dizziness and nausea the day before, he has mild abdominal pains. Empress Michiko received the general affairs section manager of the Imperial Palace for an audience alone. Luncheon with lawmakers is postponed.

Sources: Asahi, Sankei
Click to expand...

I hope Emperor Akihito is feeling better today.
 
IHA reports Emperor Akihito continues to rest and his condition is gradually improving on July 4th.

On the Emperor's behalf, CP Naruhito attended lunch with ambassadors to the Netherlands, Norway, Kenya, and their wives at the Imperial Palace. Empress Michiko, Prince Akishino, and Princess Kiko also attended.

Sources: Asahi, Sankei

ETA: Japanese Emperor Akihito recovering from dizzy spell - Kyodo News

ETA: Japanese Emperor recovering - News - NHK WORLD - English
The agency's officials say the Emperor will carry out some duties, such as signing government documents, while he continues to rest.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
:previous: I'm happy to hear that he has recovered, but this certainly highlights why exactly he expressed a wish to abdicate. Both he and the Empress have appeared increasingly frail in videos taken in the last few months.
 
Ista said:
:previous: I'm happy to hear that he has recovered, but this certainly highlights why exactly he expressed a wish to abdicate. Both he and the Empress have appeared increasingly frail in videos taken in the last few months.
Click to expand...

Yes, and I hope the abdication festivities will not be overly tiring for him. Hopefully there is a plan in place to deal with any possible illness at that point.
 
The July 9-10 private trip to Shizuoka Prefecture is cancelled. Their Majesties are concerned about the expanding damage, deaths, and injuries due to heavy rain in western Japan. Also cancelled is a concert appearance at Tokyo's Suntory Hall on the 8th.
Sources: Sankei, Jiji


On July 9th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko sent sympathies via the IHA to Hiroshima, Ehime, and Okayama Prefectures suffering from heavy rain.
Source: Sankei

105 dead, 87 missing in floods and landslides across western Japan - The Mainichi
As many as 105 people in 13 prefectures were dead and 87 others were missing as of 12:30 p.m. on July 9 due to mudslides and floods caused by torrential rains in a wide area of western Japan, according to local authorities. Rescue workers continue efforts to locate people whose whereabouts are unknown, while at least some 23,000 people had evacuated due to heavy downpours and related natural disasters as of the night of July 8.

[...]
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
On July 12th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko harvested Tensan cocoons. Tensan is one of 4 silkworm varieties the Imperial Cocoonery breeds.

Photos: Asahi

ETA: Empress harvests last silk | Nippon TV NEWS24 JAPAN
This past week, world leaders sent condolences to Emperor Akihito over the deadly and devastating floods in Japan.

King condoles emperor, PM of Japan over flood victims | King Abdullah II Official Website

UAE leaders express sympathy for victims of Japan floods

HM the King Offers Condolences to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko Over Japan Floods | Maroc.ma

His Majesty the Sultan sends cable of condolences to Japanese Emperor - Oman - Muscat Daily

Message of condolences to Emperor Akihito over deadly and devastating floods in Japan | President of the Republic of Lithuania

Rahmon extends condolences to Emperor Akihito over the deadly and devastating floods in Japan | Tajikistan News ASIA-Plus

Bahrain News Agency | HM King condoles with Japanese Emperor

KUWAIT : His Highest Amir cables Japan’s Emperor over floods’ victims

President of Turkmenistan offers condolences to the government of Japan over the victims of floods and landslides | TDH
 
Last edited:
Due to the ongoing heavy rain disaster, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have cancelled their July 17-20 rest period at Nasu Imperial Villa in Tochigi Prefecture.

Source: Mainichi

ETA: Their Majesties invited the presidents of the Japan Red Cross Society and other organizations on the 13th to learn more about the disaster response and current local situations. [Asahi]

Emperor, Empress cancel summer retreat over flood disaster - The Mainichi
 
Last edited:
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit Hokkaido Prefecture August 3-5.

Japanese Emperor, Empress to Visit Hokkaido in Aug. - JIJI PRESS
[...] The Emperor and Empress will attend a ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of the prefecture being named Hokkaido.
As part of the tour, the Imperial couple will make their first-ever visit to the island of Rishiri.
[...] on Aug. 3, the couple will visit a farm in the city of Kitahiroshima where people with intellectual disabilities work.
On the following day, the couple is slated to take a day trip to Rishiri, visiting a sea urchin breeding center and touring the island.
Click to expand...
ETA: Imperial Couple to visit Hokkaido's Rishiri Island for 1st time in August - The Mainichi
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
What a charming and intelligent couple! I love how Empress Michiko wears such simple and stylish clothes.
 
On July 25th, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the 70th Mainichi Calligraphy Exhibition at the National Art Center in Roppongi, Tokyo. [Mainichi]

Photos: Getty Images

ETA: Imperial Couple view calligraphy works at Mainichi Shodo Exhibition - The Mainichi

On the same day, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko received Tokihiro Nakamura, governor of Ehime Prefecture, for a report on the heavy rain damage. During the 40 minute meeting, Their Majesties inquired after the lives of the victims, industry impact, and challenges to reconstruction. They also cautioned about the recent hot weather affecting disaster response.

The IHA reported the Imperial couple will meet with governors of Okayama and Hiroshima on August 2.

Source: Sankei
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

iceflower
Princess Caroline Current Events Part 4: January 2024 -
Replies
6
Views
3K
iceflower
iceflower
iceflower
King Frederik X, Current Events Part 1: January 2024 -
2 3
Replies
64
Views
8K
polyesco
P
iceflower
Queen Mary, Current Events Part 1: January 2024 -
2 3
Replies
71
Views
10K
Sister Morphine
Sister Morphine
Hans-Rickard
Crown Prince Christian, News and Current Events Part 1: January 2024 -
2
Replies
45
Views
7K
Izzie
Izzie
iceflower
Crown Prince Haakon & Crown Princess Mette-Marit Current Events 4: January 2024 -
Replies
5
Views
2K
iceflower
iceflower

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom