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July 12, 2026
 

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IMPERIAL FAMILY

Emperor Naruhito delivers a speech at the Science and Technology in Society forum in Kyoto on Sunday.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2025
Emperor makes speech in English at international forum in Kyoto
The emperor said that there are a host of challenging issues related to AI that “require careful, thoughtful deliberation.”
Empress Masako (left), Emperor Naruhito (center) and their daughter Princess Aiko watch the World Athletics Championships held at the National Stadium in Tokyo in September.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 6, 2025
Parliament talks deadlocked on Japan’s imperial succession
With no agreement reached during this year’s ordinary session of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, prospects for a consensus of the legislature remain dim.
Princess Aiko has tested positive for COVID-19, the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2025
Princess Aiko tests positive for COVID-19
The princess underwent testing after reporting a fever of about 38.5 degrees Celsius and throat pain at noon Tuesday.
Princess Nobuko (left) and Princess Akiko attend Prince Hisahito's 'kakan no gi' coming-of-age ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Sept. 6.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2025
Princess Akiko to become head of Mikasa family
The position had been held by her late grandmother, Princess Yuriko, who passed away in November 2024.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako talk to students at a school for people with visual impairment in Shiga Prefecture on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2025
Emperor and empress visit school for low-vision people
The school is the prefecture’s only institution specializing in education for students with low vision.
Prince Hisahito looks at the Grand Ring during his visit to the Osaka Expo on Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2025
Prince Hisahito inspects Osaka Expo’s Grand Ring
The 19-year-old prince looked around the Grand Ring’s architectural structure from underneath before making his way to the top to view the expo from above.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako greet British Prince Edward and his wife at the entrance of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2025
Japan’s imperial couple host tea party for British Prince Edward and wife
Earlier on Friday, Prince Edward and his wife met with Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko at their residence in Tokyo’s Minato Ward.
The full official records of Empress Kojun, the wife of former Emperor Hirohito, posthumously called Emperor Showa. The Imperial Household Agency plans to release all of the content of the records on Oct. 9.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2025
Japan completes full records of Empress Kojun
The Imperial Household Agency took 17 years to complete the full records for Empress Kojun, the paternal grandmother of Emperor Naruhito.
Emperor Naruhito delivers his address at the opening ceremony of the 40th National Cultural Festival and the 25th National Arts and Culture Festival for Persons with Disabilities, as Empress Masako looks on, in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2025
Emperor and empress attend opening ceremony of national cultural festivals
Emperor Naruhito expressed hopes that the events “will lead to the vitality needed to create new culture.”
Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, offer flowers at a monument marking the hypocenter of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in Nagasaki Peace Park on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Emperor Naruhito and family pay their respects in Nagasaki
The family is slated to meet with people living in a special elderly nursing home for atomic bomb survivors on Saturday.
Crown Princess Kiko, who turned 59 on Thursday, and Crown Prince Akishino at their home in Tokyo last month
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2025
Crown Princess Kiko turns 59 with relief after son’s coming-of-age
The crown princess expressed her desire for Prince Hisahito to “embrace every responsibility, play his role and walk his own way.”
Prince Hisahito (right) smiles during a luncheon celebrating his coming of age in Minato Ward, Tokyo, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2025
Luncheon celebrates Prince Hisahito’s coming of age
The luncheon was hosted by the Crown Prince and Crown Princess Kiko and attended by about 30 guests.
Prince Hisahito (right) visits Ise Shrine's Geku outer shrine in Ise, Mie Prefecture, on Monday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2025
Prince Hisahito visits Ise Shrine after coming-of-age ceremony
The prince, second in line to the throne, underwent his coming-of-age ceremony on Saturday.
Princess Aiko (center) attends the 10th national conference on disaster management held in the city of Niigata on Sunday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2025
In imperial family first, Princess Aiko attends disaster-related conference
Princess Aiko joined two sessions, both of which were related to the January 2024 major earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula.
Prince Hisahito concludes his elaborate "kakan no gi" coming-of-age ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2025
Japan prince comes of age as succession crisis looms
The nephew of Emperor Naruhito, Prince Hisahito, on Saturday received a black silk and lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life.
Prime Minister Yoshio Mori declared in September 2000 that Japan must “grab the historic opportunity of the IT revolution."
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Sep 6, 2025
Japan Times 2000: Prime minister pitches ‘e-Japan’ as way of life
Japan must “grab the historic opportunity of the IT revolution,” Prime Minister Yoshio Mori declared as the final Diet session of the century opened in September 2000.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako met two former residents of Iwo Jima on Tuesday at the Nasu Imperial Villa in the town of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2025
Emperor and empress meet former Iwo Jima residents
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako met two former residents of Iwo Jima, a remote Tokyo island in the Pacific, at the Nasu Imperial Villa in the town of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, on Tuesday.
Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko strolled through a cabbage field in Ohinata settlement in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, on Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2025
Emperor emeritus and empress emerita visit postwar settlement
The former Emperor and former Empress have frequently visited the settlement, developed by people who returned to Japan from Manchuria in northeastern China after World War II.
The Imperial Household Agency on Tuesday announced the details of the coming-of-age ceremony for Prince Hisahito, set for Sept. 6, his 19th birthday.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2025
Details of Prince Hisahito’s coming-of-age ceremony announced
It will be the first coming-of-age ceremony for a male imperial family member in 40 years.
Emperor Emeritus Akihito is accompanied by Empress Emerita Michiko as he leaves the University of Tokyo Hospital on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2025
Emperor emeritus diagnosed with another heart disorder
In 2022, the emperor emeritus was diagnosed with right heart failure caused by tricuspid valve insufficiency.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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