Japanese Imperial Family Today

    At a regular press conference on April 14, Yasuhiko Nishimura, Director General of the Imperial Household Agency, expressed regret about an article in the May special issue of Bungei Shunju (released on April 8) related to the Emperor Emeritus and Her Majesty Empress Masako, saying that it "could never happen.”   The article states that while on the throne, the emperor emeritus did not introduce Empress Masako, Crown Princess of the time, to the Mexican president and his wife, who were state guests in 2003. Mr. Nishimura denied the contents of the article and said, "This is a truly regrettable lack of courtesy to His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus.”   The agency is seeking a correction from the Weekly Bunshun, which published similar content in November 2002. The editorial department of Bungei Shunju said, "The author obtained extremely reliable information from multiple sources and wrote the article. We are confident in the article".   The fact that

Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress attended the award ceremony of the Japan International Prize (sponsored by the International Science and Technology Foundation) held in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, on April 13. It was the first time in eight months that Their Majesties attended an event outside the Imperial Palace under the new coronavirus since the National War Memorial Ceremony on August 15, 2021.   In his speech, His Majesty the Emperor referred to the Corona disaster and said, "I hope that by bringing together the wisdom of various fields and by the people of the world joining forces with one another, we can overcome this difficult situation and build a future filled with hope.”   The Japan Prize is awarded to researchers who have contributed to the advancement of science and technology. The awards were also combined. This year's winners are a new type of genetic material, "messenger RNA (mRNA)," which is used to Katalin Carrico and three others for their

  Regarding the New York State bar exam that Kei Komuro, married to ex-Japanese princess Mako, the eldest daughter of Prince and Princess Akishino, is challenging, it was learned on April 15 (Japan Standard Time) that the name believed to be that of Mr. Komuro is not on the list of successful applicants for the February exam.   Pass/fail for the exam, which was held in February of this year, was notified to examinees on the 13th (local time), and around 10:00 a.m. on the 14th (local time). The results were announced on the website of the state bar exam board at the local level. There was no mention of a name believed to be Ms. Komuro among the successful applicants listed on the website. See BAR exam results page: https://www.nybarexam.org/EXRF22/KL210.html   It is possible that Mr. Komuro was not accepted, although this is not yet confirmed, since some people do not wish their names to be made public at the acceptance announcement.   According to the official website o