Princess Aiko to make 1st official visit overseas this autumn
Hotel officials welcome Princess Aiko on May 18 during her first visit to Ishikawa Prefecture after the 2024 earthquake. (Koichi Ueda)
Princess Aiko, the only child of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, will make her first official visit overseas this fall.
The Imperial Household Agency announced May 23 that Aiko will visit the Southeast Asian nation in November for celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
Agency officials said Laos had invited Aiko, 23, and she will take part in a range of anniversary events.
She will likely meet Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith, agency officials said.
Japan maintains good relations with Laos, a socialist nation in the Indochina Peninsula. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made Laos one of his stops last October on his first overseas visit after taking office. Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone visited Japan in January.
Aiko graduated from Gakushuin University in Tokyo in spring 2024 and has been working at the Japanese Red Cross Society.
She has also been immersed in various official duties as an adult member of the imperial household, including observing a national sports competition in Saga Prefecture and visiting the Osaka Kansai Expo earlier this month.
On May 18 and 19, she made her first visit to a disaster-stricken area, going to the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture which was hit by a magnitude-7.6 earthquake on New Year's Day 2024.
She has also been active in international goodwill events, such as inviting diplomats in Japan to the Shinhama Kamoba (Shinhama Imperial Wild Duck Preserve) in Chiba Prefecture in February. She also attended a banquet at the Imperial Palace for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in March.
The last time an imperial household member made an official visit to Laos was 2012 when Aiko's father went when he was still crown prince.
Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko have also visited Laos.
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