Japanese Princess Mako Visits Zoology Museum in Brazil

July 25, 2018

Sao Paulo- Japanese Princess Mako, who kicked off an official trip to Brazil a week ago, visited a zoology museum of the University of Sao Paulo on Tuesday.

The museum has a collection of more than 10 million pieces of specimens.

Princess Mako, the first child of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and the eldest grandchild of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, mainly saw specimens of butterflies indigenous to Brazil and stuffed animals.

The collection at the Museum of Zoology includes fish specimens that the Japanese Emperor donated to the university after his visit to Sao Paulo in 1978, when he was Crown Prince.

Showing an interest in the specimen, the princess asked questions, including about the difference between local and Japanese blowfish.

She studied museology at the University of Leicester in Britain and obtained a master's degree. She currently works as an affiliate researcher at the University of Tokyo's University Museum.

The princess will later visit the northern Brazilian states of Amazonas and Para. In Manaus, the capital of Amazonas, she will attend a ceremony to mark the 110th anniversary of the arrival of the first group of Japanese immigrants in Brazil.

The princess will leave for home on Saturday. Jiji Press