Japan’s Emperor, Empress Welcome African Leaders to Tea Ceremony at Palace

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:12 JST, August 23, 2025

The Emperor and Empress hosted a tea ceremony at the Imperial Palace on Friday for leaders from various countries attending the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9).

The tea ceremony was also attended by Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, and Princess Aiko, the eldest daughter of the Emperor and Empress.

At the ceremony held on Friday, the Emperor gave an address in which he expressed his hope that “the partnership between Japan and Africa, which has been fostered for more than 30 years through TICAD, will become even stronger and more prosperous.”

Afterward, the Emperor and the Empress attended the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize awards ceremony in Tokyo, which honors individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to medical advancements in Africa.

An Imperial tea ceremony was also held in conjunction with the TICAD 7 conference, which took place in Yokohama in 2019. The conference venues alternate between Japan and Africa, with the TICAD 8 conference of 2022 taking place in Tunis.