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She's certainly not looking well in those pictures. I hope she is able to rest and recover soon.
Thanks!.
Today, October 22, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the Museum of the Imperial Collections in Tokyo:
** gettyimages gallery **
Two dignitaries--Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko--were noticeably absent from a government-sponsored ceremony to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration that restored imperial rule in Japan.
The Abe administration did not invite the imperial couple to the Oct. 23 event in Tokyo in an apparent attempt to avoid embroiling them in controversy stemming from “dark side” of the period, according to government officials.
[...]
The Meiji Restoration refers to a political revolution in 1868 that brought down the Tokugawa Shogunate and restored imperial rule, laying the foundation for a modern Japan. Emperor Meiji, Akihito’s great-grandfather, ascended the throne on Oct. 23.
But the difference between the 100th anniversary and the 150th anniversary rests mainly with what critics say is the Abe government’s constant glorification of the period.
They say the Abe administration has glossed over the Meiji government’s drive for wealth and military strength that resulted in destructive wars.
[...]
People in Aizuwakamatsu, home to the Aizu han (feudal domain) in Fukushima Prefecture, call 2018 the 150th year of Boshin.
The domain was fiercely loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate. Labeled as “rebels,” the domain was defeated by pro-imperial forces led by the Choshu (today’s Yamaguchi Prefecture) and Satsuma (Kagoshima Prefecture) domains in the 1868-1869 Boshin War.
Wider criticism stems from the Meiji government’s push for national wealth and military strength, which led in part to the 1937-1945 Sino-Japanese War and the 1941-1945 Pacific War against the United States and its allies.
Akira Koike, secretary-general of the Japanese Communist Party, announced on Oct. 22 his decision not to attend the ceremony, citing the “dark side” of history since the Meiji Restoration.
“I am not going to take part in an event to celebrate and affirm all of the 150 years,” he said at a news conference.
Lawmakers from other opposition parties, including the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party, also skipped the event.
[...]
About 40 people gathered in front of the Diet building to protest the ceremony, holding placards that read, “No to Glorification.”
[...]
Emperor Akihito changed the style of such visits to Japanese regional areas from the way in which his father, Emperor Showa, had conducted them. For example, instead of eating lunch made by a chef that accompanied the Emperor in private, Emperor Akihito had lunch with governors, assembly speakers, and other local figures. When traveling from one location to another, he traded in his father's limousines for sedans, which brought his line of sight lower and therefore closer to those who welcomed him on the streets.
When visiting local welfare facilities and cultural facilities, Emperor Akihito invited facility staff to rooms they had set aside for him to take breaks in, so that they could chat. A former aide to the Emperor said, "He had a strong desire to learn more about society by speaking with as many people as he could, rather than take a break." The former aide also recalled that the Emperor had said that he wanted to visit all 47 prefectures as soon as possible after he succeeded to the throne in January 1989. Between 1989 and 2003, he visited all of them. By 2017, he had visited all of them twice.
Empress Michiko has been diagnosed with "cough variant asthma" by a court physician, the Imperial Household Agency announced on Nov. 1.
The Empress began to show symptoms of common cold on Oct. 2, and has since had a slight fever and coughs. She is continuing her official duties while receiving medication [...]
[...]
They will first board a flight and, if weather permits, observe from the air the town of Atsuma, which was devastated in an earthquake in September.
The town was deluged by a large mudslide during the quake, leaving 36 people dead. Many survivors who evacuated from their homes are still living in temporary accommodation.
[...] they will be briefed by Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi about the damage.
They will then to move to a location where they can oversee the damage in Atsuma and hear explanations from the town mayor.
At a town facility, the Imperial couple is expected to offer condolences and words of encouragement to survivors and bereaved families. They will also express their appreciation to police, fire fighters, Self-Defense Force personnel and other disaster response officials. [...]
AP Images, Asahi, SankeiEmperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit earthquake-hit Atsuma, Hokkaido on November 15th.
Imperial couple to visit Hokkaido quake-hit area - News - NHK WORLD - English
[…] The carp are a result of a crossbreeding experiment about 30 years ago, proposed by the Emperor, who is known for his scientific interest in fish. A Japanese nishikigoi was bred with a long-finned type from Indonesia.
[…] There were about 60 at one point but their number has declined to 19.
[…] The more recent carp are said to have more beautiful fins than the original crossbred fish.
His Majesty King Abdullah, accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, departed on Thursday on a working visit to Japan.
[...]
In Japan, King Abdullah is scheduled to meet with Emperor Akihito and Crown Prince Naruhito, and to hold talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on bilateral ties and advancing political, economic and development cooperation, as well as current regional developments. [...]
[...]
Niiname-sai is performed at the Shinkaden inside the Imperial Palace. There are two rites, "Yoi-no-gi" in the evening from 6 p.m. and another "Akatsuki-no-gi" later from 11 p.m. Each of the rites continues for about two hours without a heater. Only torchlight illuminates the cold and silent space.
The Emperor purifies himself by bathing and puts on a robe called "Gosaifuku" made of white silk. He then offers new crops along with other tributes to the ancestral and other gods. He eats some of the crops himself after reading aloud Shinto prayers to give thanks for the rich harvest and prays for peace for the nation. Crown Prince Naruhito waits near him.
Emperor Akihito continues to sit up straight with his legs folded under him for the entire ceremony, while following procedures passed down from previous emperors. The Emperor has taken part in the ritual for a shorter length of time since 2009 when he turned 75, and has attended only the evening rites from 2014. However, the shortened duration does not mean a considerable reduction in the burden of the Emperor, including time spent on preparations.
[...] The Emperor trains himself before the Niiname-sai by sitting in the same posture as he will during the rites, such as when watching television and when joining meetings. [...]
The rice offered at the ritual is a mix of crops grown by farmers from each prefecture and grains that the Emperor grew himself in a paddy field inside the Imperial Palace. Emperor Akihito usually arranges a face-to-face meeting and engages in conversation with the growers of the rice from various areas and did so in late October this year at the Imperial Palace. [...]
An 81-year-old man delivered about 1.5 kilograms of rice with his wife from the Kinki region in western Japan. Emperor Akihito is quoted as telling the man, "You must have had a hard time because of so many typhoons." The man said he was touched by the Emperor who "looked us in the eyes while he spoke to us."
[...]