Guests at Emperor, Empress’ Spring Garden Party Not Required to Wear Mask for 1st Time in Reiwa Era

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:32 JST, April 24, 2024

Guests were not required to wear a mask at the spring garden party hosted by the Emperor and the Empress at Akasaka Imperial Garden in Tokyo on Tuesday for the first time in the Reiwa era (2019-).

The guests were also served a light meal of sandwiches and other items, as well as nonalcoholic beverages.

The event was attended by 1,402 guests, including distinguished persons from academia, the arts and other fields.

The Imperial couple and other members of the Imperial family strolled around the garden for about two hours, meeting with guests and engaging in casual conversation.

Princess Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and the Empress, was in attendance at the event for the first time. She started working at the Japanese Red Cross Society earlier this month and smiled when she was congratulated on her new job.