TMCnet News
Emperor, empress host garden party for 2,000 dignitaries+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, April 27_(Kyodo) _ Around 2,000 celebrities, diplomats and other guests attended the annual spring garden party on Thursday hosted by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at Akasaka Imperial Gardens in Tokyo. The 72-year-old emperor had postponed some official duties since Tuesday because he had a 37-degree fever, but attended Thursday's party after his temperature fell to the 36-degree level, according to Imperial Household Agency officials. Among the guests were Agnes Chan, Hong Kong-born singer and goodwill ambassador of the Japan Committee for the United Nations Children's Fund, and Yoshino Kimura, actress and goodwill ambassador to promote tourism in Japan. Noted terminal-care physician Shigeaki Hinohara, 94, who is also chairman of the Board of Trustees at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo, also attended the party and was thanked by the emperor for his long contributions in the medical field, such as helping to prevent diseases associated with adult lifestyle habits. Crown Princess Masako, who is apparently still suffering from a stress-induced illness, and Princess Kiko, wife of the emperor's second son Prince Akishino, who is five months pregnant with her third child, were both absent from the party, but the emperor's cousin Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, who was discharged from hospital in March after an operation for throat cancer, managed to put in an appearance. |