Japan Crown Prince Akishino Attends Aquarium Technicians’ Conference in Saitama

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:20 JST, November 17, 2023

Crown Prince Akishino attended a Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ conference for aquarium technicians in Saitama on Thursday.

The crown prince, who serves as the association’s honorary president, listened to 13 presentations on various topics, such as stingray breeding and artificial insemination of loaches.

Ahead of the conference, the crown prince visited Saitama Aquarium in Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture, which keeps hirenaga nishikigoi carp, a kind of carp with characteristically long fins. The fish was bred after the Emperor Emeritus, while crown prince, suggested to a lab in Saitama that it should crossbreed a longfin carp from Indonesia with a nishikigoi carp.

Crown Prince Akishino stopped in front of a tank displaying the hirenaga nishikigoi carp and asked a staff member if they also keep the original parent species.