Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko Current Events 1: May 2019 -


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On June 14th, Emperor Emeritus Akihito visited the Imperial Palace to conduct fish research for the first time since June 3, when Empress Emerita Michiko tested positive for Covid-19. He entered the palace after 10am.

Empress Emerita Michiko is slowly resuming daily walks and normal routine.

Photo, info: NTV
 
On June 20th, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko privately visited the 150th anniversary exhibition for aristocratic association, Kasumi Kaikan, at Meiji Jingu Museum in Shibuya, Tokyo. They arrived after 10:30am and stayed about an hour. This is Michiko's first public appearance since having Covid-19.

Sources, videos: TBS, NTV

Mixed gallery: TBS

 
On July 13th, the Emeritus couple had lunch at Yokohama Royal Park Hotel and attended the 17th regular concert of women's chorus "Cool Mone" at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The chorus consists of graduates from Kita Kamakura Girls' School and this concert included the choral piece "Bouquet of Prayer," composed by Atsutada Otaka for the Emeritus couple's 60th wedding anniversary.

Photo, videos: TBS, FNN
 
Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko stayed at Nasu Imperial Villa in Tochigi Prefecture from July 25 to 29.

Video, photo of departure from Akasaka Estate on July 25: TBS, TV-Asahi

Photo of return to Tokyo on July 29: Facebook - mika.ryuu.1

 
On August 22nd, the Emeritus couple started their summer retreat at Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture where they will stay until the 29th. They took the Shinkansen, arriving at JR Karuizawa Station around 1pm.

On August 23rd, the couple will visit the Ohinata district where people repatriated from former Manchuria in China resettled after the war.

Photos: Getty Images, Jiji

 
On August 23rd, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko strolled the cabbage fields of Ohinata settlement in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, where people from the former Manchuria, China resettled after the war.

Photos: Getty Images, FNN, nbs-tv.co.jp

Karuizawa is special place for the Emeritus couple as it's where they first met in summer 1957. After marriage, their family visited for summer retreats. The couple grew Yusuge flowers (yellow daylily) given to them by local residents and donated seeds to Karuizawa botanical gardens from 1982 to 1984.

When the Heisei era began, then Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko mainly used Nasu Imperial Villa in Tochigi Prefecture and Susaki Imperial Villa in Shizuoka Prefecture for summer retreats and temporarily stopped visiting Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture after August 1990. They resumed retreats at Karuizawa in summer 2003, visiting the botanical gardens and learned Yusuge flowers were decreasing. From autumn 2003 until 2008, they donated seeds from the Imperial Palace to the botanical gardens.

Empress Emerita Michiko wrote a poem about the blooming Yusuge flowers in Karuizawa in 2002.

Source: Mainichi


 
On August 27th, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko visited the tennis court where they first met in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. They arrived at Karuizawa Association Tennis Club before 11am and watched a match for about 30 minutes. About 100 members welcomed the couple and 94-year-old man played in the match.

Photos: FNN, Jiji

 
On October 5th, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko privately attended Concerto "Ishin Denshin" 2024, a concert featuring their longtime friend pianist Michie Koyama with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, at Suntory Hall in Minato, Tokyo.

Koyama performed at the concert in July 2024 for the couple's 90th birthdays and a ceremony in 2009 for Emperor Akihito's 20th anniversary of accession.

Sources: FNN, TBS

 
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Empress Emerita Michiko fell at home, Sento Imperial residence in Akasaka Estate, in the evening of October 6. She was admitted to University of Tokyo Hospital the next day for leg pain and will remain overnight for examinations. She is using a wheelchair.

Imperial Household Agency Vice Grand Steward Buichiro Kuroda said that he was "not aware" of the time or circumstances of the fall, adding "Details will be made clear once the examination results are available."

Sources: NHK, Sankei, TBS, NTV

A convoy of IHA vehicles entered University of Tokyo Hospital before 2pm on October 7.


Best wishes to Empress Emerita Michiko for a safe and smooth recovery.

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ETA: Emperor Emeritus Akihito went to University of Tokyo Hospital after 5pm on October 7. It is anticipated the results are ready and doctors will explain to the Emeritus couple.

Photos, source: FNN
 
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Empress Emerita Michiko fractured the upper part of her right femur and will undergo surgery in the morning of October 8.

Emperor Emeritus Akihito visited her for an hour after 5pm on October 7.

Sources: NHK, NTV
 
English content
The former Empress fell at the residence on Sunday evening and underwent an examination at the hospital on Monday afternoon as she continued to experience severe pain in her right leg, her aide said, adding that she fell on a flat surface and did not hit her head.

 
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