Princess Aiko Attends Arctic Research Vessel Launch Ceremony; Mirai II Is First Japanese Research Vessel That Can Break Thick Ice

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:28 JST, March 20, 2025

Princess Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and the Empress, attended a naming and launching ceremony for an Arctic research vessel at a shipyard in Isogo Ward, Yokohama, on Wednesday.

Princess Aiko used a ceremonial axe to cut a rope extending from the Mirai II, built by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. She smiled and applauded when a kusudama decorative paper ball was broken and fireworks launched during the ceremony.

This ship, the nation’s first research vessel with the ability to break thick ice, is expected to expand the area Japan can observe in the Arctic Ocean. Princess Aiko was quoted as saying after the ceremony that she looks forward to seeing the ship being actively used.