Imperial Family of Japan: Current Events July 2005 - May 2008

[merampo]

A diamond tiara crown on loan from the Japanese Imperial Palace is displayed during an exhibition in Sofia November 22, 2005. The crown, along with other jewellery art masterpieces from the Mikimoto museum in Japan, are on display for the first time outside of Japan for the 'Days of the Japanese Culture' exhibition in the Balkan country.
#1: AFP
#2-3: Reuters
#4: (Newscom)
#5-6: Getty images

Thank you!!
Whose tiara is it?
Princess Sayako??

 

[ropura]

Newly-wed Yoshiki and Sayako Kuroda (former Princess Nori) attend a tea party given by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace on Nov.27 in
celebration of their marriage.
Crown Prince Naruhito,Crown Princess Masako and Prince Akishino and Princess Akishino also attended at the tea party.


From Kyodo news.

 

[mandyy]

Newly-wed Yoshiki and Sayako Kuroda (former Princess Nori) attend a tea party given by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace on Nov.27 in celebration of their marriage.
Crown Prince Naruhito,Crown Princess Masako and Prince Akishino and Princess Akishino also attended at the tea party. From Kyodo news.

#1: JIJI press
#2: TBS news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20051127-00000017-jnn-soci-movie-001&media=wm300k
#3: NNN news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20051128-00000013-nnn-soci-movie-000&media=wm300k
#4-5: TVBS news
#6: Yomiuri news

 

[mandyy]

The newest winter edition of the "Our Imperial Family" magazine released on Nov. 30, 2005 featuring the former Princess Nori and her wedding to Mr. Kuroda.

There is a English table of contents if you scroll down the page on the link below
http://www.fusosha.co.jp/imperial/

 

[Emily]

Thank you for the photos, Mandy! I have wondered about Nori walking behind her husband and it looks as though it may only be on formal occasions since they were walking side by side in the photos taken at the park. It is lovely to see them again.

 

[mandyy]

December 5: Thai National Day
.....our deepest respects to Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress and the Imperial Family........
.....It has also always been marked by close ties with the Imperial Family of Japan. This year, the people of Thailand were again honoured by a visit in August by His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino. We were also honoured by the gracious visits of Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Hitachi and Prince and Princess Akishino to the Thai Pavilion at the Aichi World Exposition 2005 in July and August 2005 respectively. Last month, the people of Thailand joined the people of Japan in rejoicing at the news of the wedding of Her Imperial Highness Princess Sayako.
We hope that in 2006, the Imperial Family, Government and people of Japan could join the people of Thailand in celebrating the auspicious 60th Anniversary of His Majesty's Ascension.....
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/specials/nationalday/news/20051205p2g00m0dm007000c.html

 

[mandyy]

Imperial family members arriving for a memorial service for Princess Takamatsu who passed away one year ago.
http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20051218-00000029-nnn-soci-movie-000&media=wm300k
#1: FNN news

 

[mandyy]

Does Japan Needs Its Imperial Family

"Nothing attests more dramatically to the psychological sway of its lingering shadow than the very reluctance of today's Japanese to debate in public the pros and cons of retaining the imperial family," says Ivan Hall, a former Gakushuin University professor and author of Cartels of the Mind.

Few people -- let alone a gaijin (foreigner) -- get to speak to the son of a living god. So on April 25 this year, I was very nervously standing in front of the Emperor and Empress in the Imperial place, hoping I wouldn't fluff any of my carefully rehearsed keigo. The imperial couple was about to travel to Ireland and Norway and as an Irish journalist I had been granted the privilege of asking two questions.

I wanted to quiz the emperor on his opinion about the compulsory singing of the national anthem at school ceremonies. As I rose to speak, an Imperial Household Agency (IHA) official signaled to the phalanx of TV cameras at the back of the room and they stopped filming and left. "They are worried that as a foreigner you might ask something that might embarrass his majesty," said the Japanese journalist beside me.

Was this precaution necessary? Everything, from my query, submitted weeks in advance, to his majesty's written reply had been carefully scripted and vetted by IHA bureaucrats. The whole episode capped to us foreign observers a slightly farcical 60 minutes: journalists asking mostly anodyne questions about their majesties health and their impressions of Ireland and Norway before wishing them a safe trip; the sight of 40 heads leaning forward to catch the Empresses' whispered replies, which could hardly be heard by anyone in the room.

But my colleague's point was important. The presence of somebody from outside the system threatens to disrupt the carefully rehearsed dance between the Imperial Palace and the press that covers it. The problem was the IHA had no leverage over people like me: a local journalist could be kicked out of the press club or fired for asking an unscripted question in front of the cameras.

The IHA's control over their charges is legendary and, sometimes comical. Photographer Toshiaki Nakayama was banned from the imperial household after snapping Prince Akishino's new bride brushing hair out of his eyes before a formal portrait. One former Imperial House correspondent says he was once told off by bureaucrats for asking the emperor if he had recovered from a cold. "That's how much they control things: even a boring [kudaranai] question like that," says the journalist. "At least if you're a foreign journalist the Imperial Household Agency cannot harass you."

The IHA naturally denies they are all controlling. Spokesman Moriyama Yasuo claims the presence of cameras in press conferences makes their majesties 'nervous' and claims there was no question of the cameras leaving the room just because I was a foreigner. "There is a set time for camera coverage of their majesties' replies and this time simply ran out," he says, which raises the question: why was I left until last?

This rigid control and the strange institutional taboos that surround Japan's first family (see sidebar) helps explain why the emperor is the elephant in the room of Japanese politics. It is almost impossible in the mainstream media to openly debate the institution's past, its current role or most importantly its future.

So while a government-appointed panel of experts recently recommended, after months of closed-session discussion, to save the Chrysanthemum Throne from extinction by allowing a female emperor, they avoided the fundamental question: should the institution continue at all?

How much do the imperials cost? What benefits do they bring Japan? What percentage of the population supports them? These basic questions hover around the supposedly 2,600-year-old institution but are seldom openly aired in the big media or in the political arena, despite the unique opportunity offered by the succession debate..............
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=299674

 

[mandyy]

Some sort of religious ceremony going on at Princess Takamatsu's residence on Nov. 20, 2005.

#1: Mainichi news

 

[mandyy]

Request for new limousines for royal family granted in budget draft
A request for replacements of the limousines used by Emperor Akihito and state guests, last updated between 1967 and 1972 -- was approved in the Finance Ministry's drafting of Japan's fiscal 2006 budget Tuesday.......

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=53720272/K=Emperor+Akihito/v=2/SID=e/l=NSR/R=1/SIG=12av2gd4g/EXP=1135215096/*-http%3A//asia.news.yahoo.com/051220/kyodo/d8ejvr4g0.html

 

[mandyy]

#1 FNN news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20051223-00000566-fnn-soci-movie-001&media=wm300k
#2: Newscom
#3: Kunaicho website

 

[mandyy]

Japanese well-wishers wave their Rising Sun flags as Emperor Akihito makes an appearance on his 72nd birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo December 23, 2005.

#1: Reuters
#2:AP

 

[mandyy]

Large photos from Getty images

 

[mandyy]

#1: Japan's Emperor Akihito (C) is surrounded by ambassadors during a tea party hosted by the monarch to celebrate his 72nd birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo December 23, 2005.
#2: ANP
#3: Kunaicho website

 

[mandyy]

Japan's Emperor Akihito makes a speech at a banquet celebrating his 72th birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo December 23, 2005.

#1: Yomiuri news
#2: Kunaicho website

 

[purple_platinum]

thank you for all the pictures from today, mandyy !!
it's great to see Masako looking a bit cheerful again...
too bad there's no Sayako this time.

 

[mandyy]

Masako Back In Public Eye For Emperor's Birthday
With a shy but steady wave, Japan's Crown Princess Masako greeted a crowd of some 14,000 well-wishers from the balcony of Tokyo's Imperial Palace on Friday. In one of a handful of appearances this year, she joined her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito to celebate the 72nd birthday of Emperor Akihito...............
http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2005/12/23/princessmasako/

Photos from HELLO Magazine

 

[purple_platinum]

several photos from DPA without watermark

 

[paulette]

it so nice to look at their pictures again!

Everyone is so cheerful and they looked happy!
I loved looking at CP Masako!!!

Where is Princess Kiko?

 

[mandyy]

Where is Princess Kiko?

Photo of Princess Kiko on the far right from Getty images

 

[mandyy]

The 2006 New Year photos of the Imperial Family
#1-2: Official photos
#1,10: AP. In this photo released by the Imperial Household Agency, Japan's Emperor Akihito, and Empress Michiko, pose with members of their royal family for a New Year photo at Imperial Palace in Tokyo Friday, Dec. 16, 2005.
#2: Reuters
#3-9: from Kunaicho video

Video footage from Asahi.com
http://www.asahi.com/motion/060101NewYear.wvx

 

[mandyy]

Their Majesties' New Years Greetings

#1: NHK news
#2,5: FNN news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20060101-00000923-fnn-soci-movie-001&media=wm300k
#3: NNN news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20060101-00000009-nnn-soci-movie-000&media=wm300k
(Video showing Princess Masako wearing a tiara leaving Togu Palace with Prince Naruhito to enter the Imperial Palace to give new years greetings to the Emperor and Empress, also in the video is Sayako Kuroda with her husband entering the Imperial Palace)
#4: JIJI press
#5-6: Kunaicho website
#5: Receiving new years greetings from government officials
#6: Receiving new years greetings from foreign diplomats

Princess Masako attends New Year's ceremony for 1st time in 3 yrs
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko received New Year's greetings from other imperial family members and state dignitaries Sunday, with Crown Princess Masako, who is recuperating from a stress-induced illness, taking part in the annual ceremony for the first time in three years.............
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060101/kyodo/d8erm3r89.html

 

[merampo]

1,2 Princesses and Princes at the New Year's greetings

3,4,5 family picture

(family pic:from toonippo.co.jp http://www.toonippo.co.jp/douga/kou****su/news2006/20060101.html)
(new year greetng:from yahoo movie news, NNNorANN)

 

[mandyy]

Japan's Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and the royal family wave to well-wishers during a New Year's appearance at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo January 2, 2006.

#1-3,6: Reuters
#4: ANP
#5: TVBS news
#7-10: Getty images

Japanese princess more in view
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Japan's Crown Princess Masako took part in an increasing round of official duties on Monday, a sign she is gradually recovering from a stress-related illness that kept her mostly out of public view for the past two years..........
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/01/01/japan.princess.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Emperor offers New Year's greetings to general public
Emperor Akihito offered his annual New Year's greetings to well-wishers who gathered at the Imperial Palace on Monday.
"I am truly pleased to celebrate the New Year with you," the emperor said in a speech through a microphone from the glass-covered balcony of the Chowa-Den wing of the palace. "I wish for the happiness of people in our country and peace in the world."....................
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060102/kyodo/d8es92ag0.html

 

[Emily]

Wonderful photos, Mandyy! Great start to the New Year! I have a question, though, did CPMasako not attend the indoor ceremony where we see only Kiko leading in the women or was she somewhere in the room but out of sight?

 

[mandyy]

Wonderful photos, Mandyy! Great start to the New Year! I have a question, though, did CPMasako not attend the indoor ceremony where we see only Kiko leading in the women or was she somewhere in the room but out of sight?

I think Princess Masako privately greeted the Emperor and Empress herself without the cameras in the morning on Jan. 1st.

 

[mandyy]

News photos and video
FNN news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20060102-00000957-fnn-soci-movie-001&media=wm300k
#1: NNN news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20060102-00000012-nnn-soci-movie-000&media=wm300k
#2: TBS news video- http://www.bcast.co.jp/cgi-bin/yahoo/news.asx?cid=20060102-00000015-jnn-soci-movie-001&media=wm300k
#3-5: AP
#6-7: Getty images
#8: ANP
#9: Corbis
#10: Kunaicho website

 

[Emily]

Thank you, Mandyy. Also, I'd like to know your opinion on the divorce rumors? Do you have any ideas about that? Is it really even a possibility that they could divorce? Sadly enough, at the time of her wedding there was a small thing that caught my eye -- it was an article saying in effect that once Masako married she was in it for life and the only honorouble way out would be suicide. What do you know of that, if anything? I know extremely little about Japanese culture. Masako has interested me because she has an East Coast education similar to my own and so I was surprised to see her give that up, as well as, a serious career, for the Japanese Royal Family -- who seem lovely but live a more isolated existence than I would expect someone like Masako to enjoy. Although I never anticipated her mental health difficulties, with hindsight they are not that surprising -- she has had to make an enormous amount of compromises. So I follow her with great interest and wish fervently for her wellbeing.

 

[mandyy]

I don't think Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako would divorce because seen from the new years video they were talking happily and having a wonderful time with Princess Aiko. And also, Princess Aiko is going to start kindergarten this April, I don't think Princess Masako would want a divorce in such a critical period when Aiko is starting her education. Masako just wanted to spend more time with Aiko and balance her duties with time taking care of her daughter. I think the Imperial Household Agency should allow her to do more official visits abroad and allow her to use her linguistic and diplomatic skills more frequently. This would give Masako chances to apply her own skill in a more useful way just like continuing her former career as a diplomat.

 

[Emily]

Wonderful -- thank you! As I've written previously, I agree with your opinion on her need to get out and do more official visits abroad.