Imperial Family

Crown Prince, Son Visit Event in Kagoshima

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Crown Prince Akishino delivers a speech at the grand opening ceremony for the 47th national high school culture festival in Kagoshima City on Saturday. At right is Prince Hisahito.

Jiji Press

10:35 JST, July 31, 2023

KAGOSHIMA (Jiji Press) — Crown Prince Akishino and his son, Prince Hisahito, on Saturday attended the grand opening ceremony for the 47th national high school culture festival in Kagoshima City.

It is the first time for Prince Hisahito, who is on summer vacation from high school, to visit an area away from Tokyo for official duty.

Crown Prince Akishino’s wife, Crown Princess Kiko, cancelled her trip with the two because she contracted COVID-19.

“The event is truly meaningful in terms of letting diverse talents bloom and enriching the soil of cultural creation for the future,” Crown Prince Akishino said in a speech at the ceremony, noting that all of the nation’s 47 prefectures hosted the annual event, first held in 1977, with Kagoshima becoming the 47th prefecture to do so.

After the ceremony, the two watched a parade by students participating in the festival, giving a big hand to a marching band and others.