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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Prince Fumihito, right, watches with Crown Prince Naruhito, left, and Crown Princess Masako as Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko depart Haneda airport in Tokyo in 2013. Fumihito and Princess Kiko will visit Hawaii for the first time next month.
The Japanese government has announced Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko will visit Hawaii for the first time next month.
Prince Fumihito, the second son of Japan’s Emperor Akihito, and his wife, Princess Kiko, are expected to visit Oahu from June 4 to June 8 for a total of four nights and five days to build connections with Japanese abroad, according to Takayuki Shinozawa, Deputy Consul General of the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu. The couple will visit sites on Oahu but will not travel to neighbor isles.
“It’s approved by the cabinet,” said Shinozawa. “We’re all so excited.”
The news came shortly after a media briefing this afternoon of the upcoming commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Gannenmono, or the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii, at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i with two special events in June.
The Association of Nikkei and Japanese Abroad (ANJA) will hold its annual convention on June 6, with participants from around the world, and Kizuna Hawai‘i will present the Gannenmono 150th Anniversary Commemoration and Symposium on June 7 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.
Fumihito is the second son of Japan’s Emperor Akihito, who announced in December that he would step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne on April 30, 2019, according to the Associated Press.
Akihito will be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. Prince Fumihito, 52, would then ascend to the role of crown prince.
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