Empress

Emperor, empress talk with Olympic medalists
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko speak to judoka Kaori Matsumoto, right, and wrestler Saori Yoshida, second from right, in the Akasaka Gyoen imperial garden in Tokyo on Oct. 25. (Hiroki Endo)
October 26, 2012
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko chatted with London Olympic medalists during an autumn party at the Akasaka Gyoen imperial garden in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Oct. 25.
Imperial couple want to be cremated, not buried
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko inspect the Tokyo Sky Tree's Tembo Galleria, a 450-meter-high observation deck, on April 26. (Pool)
April 27, 2012
Breaking with centuries of tradition, Emperor Akihito has let it be known he wishes to be cremated in a simple ceremony after his death.
Emperor, empress compose poems for disaster areas
The Utakai Hajime New Year Poetry Reading Ceremony was held at the Imperial Palace on Jan. 12 (Pool)
January 12, 2012
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko expressed their feelings toward victims of the March 11 disaster in the Tohoku region in their poems read at the New Year Poetry ceremony on ...
Emperor Akihito marks 78th birthday with somber...
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko wave to crowds gathered at the Imperial Palace on Dec. 23 to celebrate Akihito's 78th birthday. "Many lives were lost this year to the Great East Japan Earthquake and to heavy rains caused by typhoons," Akihito said from the Palace balcony. "My heart aches when I think of the bereaved families and the survivors. I feel most touched to see that, amid all hardships, many people are helping disaster victims with devotion." The imperial couple was joined on the balcony by Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako, Prince Fumihito, Princess Kiko and Princess Mako, Fumihito and Kiko's daughter, who turned 20 in October. (Takeo Kato)
December 23, 2011
Emperor Akihito celebrated his 78th birthday on Dec. 23, releasing a somber message titled "My Reflections" through the Imperial Household Agency press club in lieu of a news...
Empress Michiko turns 77, and is feeling her age
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko look at Nippon daisies near a porte cochere at the Imperial Palace on Oct. 6. The Nippon daisies were grown of seeds brought from Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, which the imperial couple visited in 1997. (Imperial Household Agency)
October 20, 2011
Empress Michiko, marking her 77th birthday on Oct. 20, referred to the "anguish and despair" she felt after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11.
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