Empress Michiko accompanied by Princess Sayako smiles as she plays the piano along with Emperor Akihito's cello at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo October 7, 2005. Michiko celebrates her 71st birthday on October 20.
#2-3: Reuters
#1: In this photo released by the Imperial Household Agency, Empress Michiko, center, is accompanied by Emperor Akihito and their daughter Princess Sayako, as they stand together in the garden of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo Friday, Sept. 30, 2005. Michiko celebrates her 71st birthday Thursday, Oct. 20. New photos and video
#6: NNN news- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo...0&media=wm300k
#7: ANN news- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo...1&media=wm300k
#8: FNN news- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo...1&media=wm300k
Emperor and Empress on a four day visit to Okayama Prefecture starting from Oct. 21, 2005.
#1: Toonppo web
#2: Kyodo news-Emperor and Empress attending the opening ceremony of the National Sports Festival in Okayama on Oct. 22, 2005.
#3: JIJI press (opening ceremony on Oct. 22)
#4: (Newcom) Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko wave at well-wishers as they leave a sanatorium for Hansen's disease patients in Okayama Prefecture on Oct. 23.
#5: Kyodo news (Oct.23)
The Emperor and Empress meeting members of the Japan Overseas Cooperative Association at the Tokyo NHK Hotel on Oct. 29, 2005.
#1: FNN news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo...1&media=wm300k
#2: Mainichi news
Sunday, Oct. 30 Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko to view horseracing at Tokyo Race Course in Tokyo's Fuchu
Photos from this event
#1: FNN news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo...1&media=wm300k
10: Yomiuri news
#1: Newly-appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe receives a certificate from Emperor Akihito, left, as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in the background at left, stands by during an attestation ceremony of Koizumi's third Cabinet at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo Monday, Oct. 31, 2005. (AP Photo/The Imperial Household Agency, HO)
#2: Newly-appointed Minister of Measures for Declining Birthrate and Gender Equality Kuniko Inoguchi receives a certificate from Japanese Emperor Akihito, left, as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in the background at left, looks on. (AP Photo/The Imperial Household Agency, HO)
#1: Paraguay's President Nicanor Duarte Frutos (2nd L) talks to Japan's Emperor Akihito (L) while first lady Maria Gloria Penayo de Durate (2nd R) speaks with Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo November 2, 2005. The Paraguayan couple is on a five-day visit to Japan. REUTERS/Imperial Household Agency/Handout
Conferment Ceremony for the Order of Cultural Merit
The Conferment Ceremony for the Order of Cultural Merit is held on 3 November in the Imperial Palace. The Order of Cultural Merit is conferred upon the recipient by His Majesty the Emperor and a certificate of the Order is conveyed to the recipient by the Prime Minister
#1: TBS news
#2,3: Kunaicho website
Greece's Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis speaks to Emperor Akihito of Japan as their wives Natasa and Empress Michiko talk during a meeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo November 11, 2005.
.....Earlier, Karamanlis and his wife, Natasha, were received by Japan's Emperor Akihito, with whom he discussed the history of the two countries, their civilizations, the successful organisation of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, and environmental protection issues.....
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Emperor Akihito of Japan during a meeting at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo November 22, 2005. Putin paid a call on the monarch as he wrapped up a three-day visit to Japan.
Putin meets Emperor, ends visit Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a call Tuesday on Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace before wrapping up his three-day visit to Japan. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/...20051123b4.htm
Annan to embark on trip to East Asia this weekend
.......The next stop is Tokyo where, in addition to meetings with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the country`s foreign minister, he will meet with a parliamentary group on UN reform. He also has an audience scheduled with Emperor Akihito....... http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=396085
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko presenting the International Prize for Biology on Dec. 5, 2005. The prize was instituted in 1985 to commemorate Emperor Showa's longtime devotion to biological research.
#1: TBS news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo...1&media=wm300k
#2-3: AP
#2: Prof. Nam-hai Chua, left, of Laboratory of Plant Molecular Biology at the Rockefeller University, bows as he is awarded with the 2005 International Prize for Biology, from Saburo Nagakura, chairman of International Prize for Biology Committee, at a ceremony attended by Japanese Emperor Akihito, and Empress Michiko, shown in the background, in Tokyo Monday, Dec. 5, 2005. Chua, from Singapore, received the prize for his achievements on photomorphogenesis of plants, mechanism of chloroplast formation and rhythm of the biological clock.
#3: Prof. Nam-hai Chua, left, of Laboratory of Plant Molecular Biology at the Rockefeller University, chats with Japanese Emperor Akihito as Empress Michiko talks to his wife Pearl Chua in the background after a ceremony where Chua was awarded with the 2005 International Prize for Biolog in Tokyo Monday, Dec. 5, 2005.
#4: NHK news
School essays reveal emperor as a boy
12/05/2005
By NOBUYUKI WATANABE The Asahi Shimbun
A newly discovered collection of papers gives insights into the thoughts of Emperor Akihito as a schoolboy during World War II.
While he was still in elementary school, Emperor Akihito wrote that he wanted to grow up to be a person who "bears Japan on my shoulders," a composition kept by his teacher shows. A copy of the essay was found among four cardboard boxes of material that once belonged to Koichi Suzuki (1900-1989), a Japanese history teacher at Gakushuin Primary School, where the emperor was a pupil....... http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-...512050106.html
Names & faces
His Majesty the Emperor of Japan Akihito recently designated Larry Rosensweig, director of advancement at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, the recipient of the Medal of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette....... http://www.timesleader.com/mld/times...g/13324934.htm
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the roughly 50 million yen spent by the Tokyo metropolitan government on traditional ceremonies linked to Emperor Akihito's coronation in 1990 was justified.
The decision quashed an appeal by a group of Tokyo residents who sought a ruling ordering former Tokyo Governor Shunichi Suzuki and other Tokyo metropolitan government officials to reimburse city coffers. The plaintiffs had argued that spending public funds on such formalities represented a violation of the constitutional separation of the state and religion......... http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-...512090208.html