Princess Aiko Delivers First Address During Official Duty; Daughter of Emperor and Empress Speaks at Opening of International Medical Conference

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:23 JST, May 3, 2025

Princess Aiko, the daughter of the Emperor and Empress, delivered her first address during an official duty, speaking at the opening ceremony of an international medical conference in Tokyo on Saturday.

“Japan has experienced major disasters which have transformed our systems of disaster medicine and forced them to evolve,” Princess Aiko said, referring to the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, in her speech at the WADEM Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2025.

“This conference will be deeply meaningful as a valuable opportunity for participants to share the expertise and skills they have obtained so far, as well as for advancing further international cooperation and for passing on a wealth of knowledge and experience to the younger generation who will lead the way in the coming era,” the princess added.

Princess Aiko, who works for the Japanese Red Cross Society, has an interest in disaster relief and emergency medical care. To prepare her for Saturday’s opening ceremony, the princess received an expert briefing at the Imperial Residence in the Imperial Palace in late April.

Medical professionals and researchers from about 80 countries and regions are expected to attend the five-day conference in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, which is hosted by the Science Council of Japan and others.