Events held on 60th wedding anniversary of Japan emperor, empress

April 10, 2019

Tokyo--Events were held at the Imperial Palace on Wednesday to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

At the "Matsu-no-Ma" state room, a congratulatory ceremony was held by Imperial Family members, including Crown Prince Naruhito, the eldest son of the Imperial couple, and Crown Princess Masako.

"I congratulate you both from the bottom of my heart for your 60th wedding anniversary," the Crown Prince told his father and mother. "Thank you," the Emperor replied.

Later, the legislative, administrative and judicial heads of the country, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, offered congratulations to the couple. Emperor Akihito, 85, and Empress Michiko, 84, were also celebrated by officials of the Imperial Household Agency.

In the early evening, the Emperor and the Empress would accept congratulations from Princess Aiko, the only child of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, and from Prince Hisahito, the third and youngest child of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko. Prince Akishino is the second son of the Emperor and the Empress.

Later in the day, the Imperial couple would have dinner at the palace with Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako, Prince Akishino, Princess Kiko, Sayako Kuroda, the youngest child of the Emperor and the Empress, and her husband, Yoshiki.

On Friday, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are slated to visit Kodomonokuni, a park in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, which was opened in May 1965 to commemorate their marriage.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko first met in August 1957, through tennis matches in Karuizawa, a resort town in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan.

After their engagement was decided at an Imperial House Council meeting in November 1958, Emperor Akihito, then Crown Prince, and Empress Michiko, a commoner at the time, married on April 10, 1959. She was the first commoner to become Crown Princess of Japan, bringing great excitement to the public.

Emperor Akihito assumed the throne in January 1989, and his wife became Empress at the same time.

At a press conference on Dec. 20, 2018, three days before his 85th birthday, Emperor Akihito said, "I am...truly grateful to the Empress, who herself was once one of the people, but who chose to walk this path with me, and over sixty long years continued to serve with great devotion both the Imperial Family and the people of Japan."

Emperor Akihito is set to abdicate on April 30 this year, when Japan's current Heisei era ends. Crown Prince Naruhito will ascend the throne on May 1, and the new era, Reiwa, will start on the day.

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