Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako hosted an Imperial garden party in Tokyo, welcoming more than 1,400 people in a friendly atmosphere on Friday.
The event, also attended by other members of the Imperial family, is held twice a year at the Akasaka Imperial Gardens in spring and autumn.
Guests at the spring party included Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games medalists. Figure skating pair Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi, who announced their retirement from competition earlier in the day, were at the party. Snowboard medalist Murase Kokomo was also invited.
The guests also included baseball legend Oh Sadaharu, who holds the world’s record for career total home-runs with 868.
Among others were Kitagawa Susumu of Kyoto University, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year, and Nozawa Masako, a voice actor who performed as a number of main characters in popular anime works.
The Imperial couple, Crown Prince and Princess Akishino and other members of the Imperial family exchanged words with guests standing along the pathway, with smiles.
The participants were treated to food such as grilled mutton from sheep raised at the Imperial Stock Farm and yakitori grilled chicken. They shared the pleasant time together.
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