The Imperial Household

[Prisma]

After criticism of spouse name tags at the spring garden party, full names will be printed for all guests going forward, starting with the autumn garden party on October 30.

Full names on IDs at imperial garden party, and BBQ is back! | The Asahi Shimbun

Proper name tags for all is the new rule at imperial garden parties following criticism that the first names of spouses of dignitaries and others of note were omitted at the last function held in spring.

[...]

The criticism was all over X after this year’s spring garden party where spouses were identified as “Husband of (wife’s full name)” or “Wife of (husband’s full name).”

Starting with this autumn garden party, the full names of spouses will be written on the nametags, the agency said.

The agency also said their full names will be written in the address of the invitation card.

[...]

The agency noted that overcrowding was not an issue and that it had decided to comply with numerous requests to serve jingiskan barbecue and yakitori from the agency’s ranch.

 

[Somebody]

It's interesting that the household's initial way to deal with criticism about differences in how wives vs husbands were treated was to also give the husbands of invited guests a name tag that no longer displayed their name but -like their female counterparts had had for some time- started to refer to them only by their marital relationship. Only after even more criticism, they are now abandoning that practice altogether.

 

[Prisma]

At a regular press conference on September 11th, Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency Nishimura Yasuhiko said he's also troubled by the misinformation regarding Prince Hisahito's university plans. In response to Crown Princess Kiko's birthday statement mentioning her distress at online criticism, Nishimura said "We will take action as necessary."

The IHA press club requested videos include audio but Nishimura replied, "I would like you to understand that each of the subjects has their own thoughts," suggesting that the audio could not be released due to the wishes of the Emperor, Empress and Imperial Family.

The agency is considering sharing activities of the Akishino and other Imperial families on its Instagram. The FY2025 budget request earmarks 34 million yen for the Public Relations Office and 3 additional staff. Since launching in April, 宮内庁/ Imperial Household Agency (@kunaicho_jp) • Instagram photos and videos limited content to Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako or information about palaces, educational / nature tours, culture, etc. Other Imperial family members only appeared when they attended events with Their Majesties.

Sources: TBS, Jiji, NTV, FNN