Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko End Final Regional Trip

April 20, 2019

Tokyo- Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko returned to Tokyo on Friday, from a three-day trip to the central Japan prefecture of Mie for ceremonies at Ise Jingu, a Shinto shrine complex, where the Emperor reported his abdication scheduled for April 30.

During their final regional trip in Japan as Emperor and Empress, they were welcomed by a total of some 60,000 people who gathered along roads and railway tracks, and at train stations to see the couple.

On Wednesday, they arrived at Kintetsu Railway Co.'s Ujiyamada Station in the Mie city of Ise, which hosts the shrine, to a welcome from a crowd of some 3,500. Despite light rain, some 1,500 people welcomed the arrival of the couple by taking part in a lantern procession near the Naiku main area of Ise Jingu on Wednesday night.

On Thursday, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the shrine. For the abdication-reporting ceremonies, the sword and the jewel, two of the Three Scared Treasures preserved at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, were bought to the shrine for the first time in five years.

The couple's only daughter, Sayako Kuroda, was present at the ceremonies as a priest of Ise Jingu.

After ending the crucial ceremonies, the Emperor and the Empress looked "deeply moved" and "relieved," a close aide to the Imperial couple said.

Later on Thursday, the Emperor and the Empress traveled to Kashikojima, an island in the prefecture, aboard a Kintetsu limited express train.

During the train ride, the two waved at people along the way while asking their chamberlains to inform them if there were people outside.

On Thursday night, Kuroda, who turned 50 on the day, had dinner with her parents at a hotel in Kashikojima where the Imperial couple were staying.

When they left Kashikojima Station aboard a Kintetsu train on Friday, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko smiled at people who expressed their gratitude to the couple.

During the Emperor's 30 years on throne, the couple has made countless trips around Japan, including those to encourage people affected by natural disasters and pay tribute to war victims.

Emperor Akihito assumed the throne on Jan. 7, 1989, and the country's current Heisei era started the following day.

Heisei is set to end on April 30, the day of Emperor Akihito's abdication, to be followed by the start of the new era, Reiwa, on May 1, when Crown Prince Naruhito, the eldest son of the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, ascends to the throne.

From May 1, the current Emperor and Empress will have the titles of Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita, respectively. Jiji Press