Japan Royalty in Celebration of the New Year

January 2, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Emperor Akihito (left), accompanied by Empress Michiko, delivers a speech to well-wishers in celebration of the New Year at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, 02 January 2018.

Akihito will abdicate on 30 April 2019.

Crowds gather in the grounds of the Imperial Palace to see the royal family's annual New Year's greeting to well-wishers in Tokyo on January 2, 2018. Jiji Press