The Duke of Cambridge’s Third Day in Japan

On his third day in Japan, Prince William began with a visit to the studios of Japan’s national public broadcaster, NHK.

During the tour of NHK, the Duke – accompanied by the British Ambassador, Tim Hitchens – was shown the sets where the historical drama series Hana Moyu (the current Taiga series) is filmed, as well as the newsrooms. The guests were greeted by the organisations’ mascot, Domo-Ku. William received a mini mascot stuffed toy to take home for Prince George.

Prince William watched a performance by four geishas who star in the Taiga series. One showed him how to play an instrument called a shamisen (similar to a banjo) with a plectrum, which created a slightly awkward moment as the Prince was told it was made of ivory. “Oh is it?” he asked, before handing the instrument back to the geisha. William has previously advocated against ivory trade.

The tour continued to the hair and make-up department, Prince William declined to try on a samurai wig. “If I put one of these on, my brother would never let me forget it,” he said. Ambassador Hitchens however was a good sport, putting the wig on for a short while to the laughter of the Duke and the press pack. Prince William did try on a Samurai King costume, featuring a red and gold tunic and a gold helmet. When asking how the outfit looked, the Prince got a reply of “It really suits you.”

The Duke and Ambassador Hitchens were then shown around the newsrooms, where they watched a video that detailed NHK’s reporting of the 2011 earthquake disaster. NHK’s earthquake and tsunami system was also explained. Prince William will tomorrow meet with people affected by the disaster while in Fukushima.

Later, the Duke of Cambridge headed over to the Daikanyama Tsutaya Bookshop, where he viewed an exhibit of British products arranged by Innovation is GREAT. School children had been invited to attend the event where they spent time with Prince William colouring in pictures of the Prince in an samurai outfit. The pictures were then scanned onto a smart phone and made into a animation.

It was then via bullet train to Koriyama, in the Fukushima prefecture, where Prince William visited the park run by the Smile Kids charity, that has both indoor and outdoor play areas which are monitored for radiation levels. Joining him was Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. The two men spent some time playing with the children, even climbing into the ball pit where William showed off his juggling skills. The children didn’t give two thoughts to protocol, throwing plastic balls at William faster than he could catch them.

The final engagement of the day for the Prince was a dinner with the Prime Minister at a ‘ryokan’ (hot spring) inn. Here, he donned ‘yukata’,  a casual version of the traditional kimono.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Ambassador, Children, Japan, Natural Disaster, Official Visit, Prime Minister Abe of Japan, The Duke of Cambridge.

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