Japanese Royal News

Japan's Emperor Akihito (R) and Empress Michiko (L) look at the area which was devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami as they stand near the playground of Isatomae Elementary School in Minamisanriku town, Miyagi Prefecture April 27, 2011. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko paid their first visit to the northeastern Japan on Wednesday since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devasted the Tohoku region. REUTERS/Toru Yamanaka/Pool (JAPAN - Tags: DISASTER ROYALS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Japan's Emperor Akihito speaks to well-wishers next to Empress Michiko as he celebrates his 78th birthday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo December 23, 2011. REUTERS/Toru Hanai (JAPAN - Tags: PROFILE ROYALS)

Japan's Emperor Akihito waits for the arrival of German President Christian Wulff at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo October 24, 2011. REUTERS/Issei Kato (JAPAN - Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT ROYALS)

Japan's Emperor Akihito (L) and Empress Michiko leave a memorial service ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War Two at Budokan Hall in Tokyo August 15, 2011. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao (JAPAN - Tags: ANNIVERSARY DISASTER POLITICS ROYALS)

Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and German President Christian Wulff (R) tour the gardens of the presidential Bellevue palace in Berlin June 22, 2011. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS ENTERTAINMENT)

Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito (L) and Crown Princess Masako bow while visiting the tsunami-devastated area of Iwanuma in Miyagi prefecture June 4, 2011. REUTERS/Toshifumi Kitamura/Pool (JAPAN - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT ROYALS)

Japan's Empress Michiko talks to evacuees at a relocation center for people who fled their houses because of radiation fear by the March 11 tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, northeastern Japan, May 11, 2011, two months after the massive earthquake and tsunami. REUTERS/Shizuo Kambayashi/Pool (JAPAN - Tags: POLITICS DISASTER ROYALS)