Emperor, Empress Watch Mongolian Horse Racing at Naadam Festival; Meets Mongolians with Ties to Japan

By Takaya Toda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

16:30 JST, July 12, 2025

ULAANBAATAR — The Emperor and Empress on Saturday watched horse racing as part of Naadam, Mongolia’s largest sporting event, on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar.

Naadam, which is translated as “festival” in English, is held over three days from July 11, when the country marks the anniversary of the People’s Revolution. The event features wrestling, horse racing, archery and Shagain Harvaa, a traditional target shooting game using animal knuckle-bones.

Considered the festival’s highlight, Saturday’s race featured more than 100 horses, and children around the age of 10 raced for 22 kilometers on 5-year-old horses.

Under a clear blue sky, the Imperial couple, accompanied by Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh and his wife, watched the galloping horses near the finish line in a viewing area overlooking the vast grassland.

The Emperor and Empress had attended the opening ceremony of Naadam at the capital’s National Central Stadium the previous day.

The Imperial couple, accompanied by the president and his wife, watched a performance by about 2,500 dancers and horseback riders racing across the stadium. The Imperial couple were seen applauding a demonstration of traditional archery.

They also tried their hand at knuckle-bone shooting upon the president’s recommendation, according to the Imperial Household Agency.

Later in the day at the Japanese ambassador’s residence, the Imperial couple met with Mongolians who have ties to Japan, including the founder of a museum introducing the history of Japanese people who had been interned in Mongolia and a Japanese language teacher at a local school.