Japan Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko to Visit Hawaii in June

May 15, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, will make their first official visit to the U.S. state of Hawaii on June 4-9.

Their visit was approved at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

As this year marks the 150th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawaii, the couple will visit Honolulu to attend a ceremony to celebrate the milestone, as well as a gathering of people of Japanese ancestry living outside Japan.

Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko will leave Japan for Honolulu on June 4 aboard a commercial plane from Narita International Airport near Tokyo.

The couple will attend the opening ceremony of the 59th Convention of Nikkei & Japanese Abroad in Hawaii, hosted by the Association of Nikkei & Japanese Abroad, on June 6, and a ceremony to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawaii the following day.

Prince Akishino, the second son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, will deliver a speech at both events.

During their visit, the couple will pay floral tributes at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, a monument for Japanese immigrants in Hawaii and a monument for the victims of a 2001 accident off the coast of Hawaii in which nine people aboard the Ehime Maru died following the Japanese high school fishing training ship's collision with a U.S. submarine.

Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko are also expected to meet with Hawaii Governor David Ige and descendants of Japanese immigrants, before returning to Japan on June 9.

Prince Akishino, currently second in line to the Imperial throne, will become first in line when his older brother, Crown Prince Naruhito, succeeds to the throne on May 1 next year following the Emperor's abdication. Jiji Press