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Yomiuri Shimbun
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Women in the Reiwa Era Imperial Family / Princesses Share Father's Ways of Thinking, Continue Legacies
The Yomiuri Shimbun Princess Akiko presents her books to the winners of the 8th national junior high school biblio battle championship, a book review competition, in Kyoto on March 9. This is the third and last installment in a three-part series about what roles women born into the Imperial family should play in the Reiwa era. *** Princess Akiko, Princess Yoko and Princess Tsuguko, the great-granddaughters of Emperor Taisho, have leveraged their individual personalities to support the Imperial family. Going among people Princess Akiko, 43, of the Mikasa branch of the family, teaches at universities as an expert in Japanese art and also writes essays. Last year, her book 'Aka to Ao no Gaun' (Red and blue gown) came out in paperback. The book of essays about her six years in England studying at the University of Oxford for her doctorate became a bestseller, with 380,000 copies sold. 'Princess Akiko is a very friendly person. I was surprised by how high the quality of her manuscripts were,' said Takayuki Nagata, 52, of PHP Institute, Inc. Nagata oversaw the serialization of the princess' essays in a monthly magazine published by the institute. The princess usually lives in Kyoto. She runs an organization that helps pass Japanese culture on to the next generation, and she is personally involved in hands-on events that include traditional crafts and agriculture. At a book review competition in Kyoto in March, the princess told junior high school students and others: 'When you go abroad, you will be treated as a representative of Japan. I want you to read books and learn about the history and culture of your country.' As part of her official duties, she serves as president of 10 organizations, including the Japan-Turkey Society, which she took over from her late father, Prince Tomohito of Mikasa. 'Princess Akiko holds dear to her father's way of thinking, which was that the Imperial family should go among the people and do what they desire,' said Eizo Kobayashi, chairperson of the society. Supporting motorsports Princess Yoko, 41, the younger sister of Princess Akiko, was similarly influenced by Prince Tomohito. Nicknamed the 'Bearded Prince,' the prince devoted himself to the welfare of disabled people and the promotion of sports. In a handwritten letter to the Imperial Household Agency press club in June 2022, Princess Yoko wrote that when she performs her official duties, she asks herself, 'If it were my father, how would he feel?' She also revealed that she suffers from sensorineural hearing loss. The Yomiuri Shimbun Princess Yoko speaks to the winners of the All-Japan junior high school water essay contest in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Aug. 1. When she visited Home Hospice Komatsu in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the autumn of 2022, she learned that a child of a staff member at the facility was hearing-impaired. 'So am I,' she told the staff member. 'The princess has chosen to look at her hearing impairment in a positive light,' said Chiaki Sakakibara, 63, who runs the hospice. 'We were very encouraged by the kindness she showed to those around her.' In July, Princess Yoko presented the Princess Yoko Cup at the All Japan Super Formula Championship, Japan's premier auto race. The Yomiuri Shimbun Princess Tsuguko speaks to atomic bomb survivors at the Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims in Nagasaki on Aug. 7. On April 6, Princess Akiko and Princess Yoko visited the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix to watch the event and help promote motorsports. Balancing work, duties Princess Tsuguko, 39, the eldest daughter of late Prince Takamado, has been balancing her official duties with her activities at the Tokyo-based Japan Committee for UNICEF for more than 10 years. In this respect, she takes after her father, who worked at the Japan Foundation in Tokyo in addition to his official duties. On the committee, the princess is in charge of raising public awareness of UNICEF's work to support poverty-stricken areas around the world, and she travels extensively throughout Japan to do the job. Princess Tsuguko has also sought to promote peace. On Aug. 7 last year, at the closing ceremony of the All Japan inter-high school archery tournament in Nagasaki, she said in her speech: 'Even today, conflicts continue around the world.' 'There are children in the world who are not even allowed to enjoy sports,' she added. 'I hope you will think about what you can do for peace.' During a meeting afterwards with atomic bombing survivors, she crouched down to listen to them speak. 'The Emperor of the Heisei era wishes for peace and repeatedly made trips to pay his respects to the war dead in various places,' said Shigemitsu Tanaka, 84, chair of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council. 'I saw that his wish has been passed on to the Imperial family today.' — This series was written by Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Sho Mizuno, Kaori Sakaba and Michiko Otsuka.
Japan Times
13-04-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Times
How Italian driver Ronnie Quintarelli endeared himself to Japan's rabid racing fans
When the Super GT season kicked off in Okayama on Sunday with a race won by TOM's pair Sho Tsuboi and Kenta Yamashita, the grid was missing one of the series' most talismanic drivers of the past two decades. Ronnie Quintarelli sent shockwaves through the paddock when he announced that the 2024 season would be his last. The news arrived not long before the final round at Suzuka Circuit, immediately prior to which the long-time Nissan driver appeared in front of the fans at the NISMO Festival, Nissan's traditional end-of-year celebration held at Fuji Speedway. 'When I made the announcement, at first it was a sad feeling,' recalls Quintarelli. 'But I received a lot of energy from the fans at the NISMO Festival. Many people greeted me and asked for photos. I didn't expect this reaction, and that made me very happy.' Quintarelli made his Super GT debut all the way back in 2005, and had been a permanent fixture of the Nissan camp since 2008, winning four championships in the top GT500 class over the years. That not only makes him Super GT's most-successful foreign driver, but at least by titles, its most successful driver full stop. Other series greats like Satoshi Motoyama, Yuji Tachikawa and Juichi Wakisaka, whom Quintarelli idolized when he first moved to Japan as a fresh-faced Formula 3 driver back in 2003, only managed three. Not only did Quintarelli achieve such success, he did so while ingratiating himself in Japanese culture in a way that few drivers from overseas had done previously, and none have done since. Indeed, once he debuted in Super GT in 2005, Quintarelli would never race professionally outside of Japan again, save for one guest appearance in a DTM round in Germany at the wheel of a Nissan GT500 car. That was despite having an offer to race in Formula 1 with the Spyker team in mid-2007. So what made Quintarelli such a unique presence who stood above his fellow international drivers in Super GT? Much of it has to do with the unique circumstances by which he came to Japan. Quintarelli in action at the opening All-Japan Formula 3 round at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture in 2003. | Toyota In 2002, the Venetian was racing in senior karting, and a French magazine article about his exploits was spotted by ex-F1 driver Pierre-Henri Raphanel, who had driven for the Inging team in the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (the forerunner to Super GT). That led to a chance to participate in a shootout arranged by Inging's All-Japan Formula 3 team at the end of the season, after which Quintarelli was handed a two-year contract to race in the series. Whereas most international drivers live in Tokyo or Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, where many of the top teams are based, Quintarelli moved to an apartment in Yamaguchi Prefecture, just a short walk from the Inging factory. He would live there for five years. 'I enjoyed my time in Yamaguchi a lot," recalls Quintarelli. "I went to the factory every day to talk to the mechanics and the staff. They were so nice to me, and I also made friends going to the gym and playing soccer, as Inging found me a team to join.' The fact that Quintarelli was in an area with few foreign nationals hastened the process of learning Japanese. By his own admission, his lack of English ability at the time also meant that learning the local lingo was the quickest route to being able to communicate properly with his new colleagues and friends in Japan. By 2005, Quintarelli had graduated from F3 to Formula Nippon, the top single-seater series in Japan, which is now known as Super Formula, as well as Super GT, the top series for sports cars. When Inging stepped up to Formula Nippon in 2006, Quintarelli rejoined the team and became its lead driver, delivering the team its first victory in Okayama in 2007. Quintarelli drives for NISMO during the fifth round of the 2024 Super GT season at Fuji Speedway. | Nissan That was arguably the season that defined Quintarelli's career. Not only did he turn down the chance to race in F1 for Spyker because of the clashes with his existing Formula Nippon commitments, it also opened the door for him to join Nissan's Super GT stable in 2008, initially with customer team Hasemi Motorsport. And the fact he could speak Japanese well enough to address the press without an interpreter after his victory at Okayama was also significant. 'Hasemi-san really appreciated the fact I could speak Japanese,' says Quintarelli, referring to Masahiro Hasemi, whose eponymous team he spent the first two seasons of his Nissan tenure at. 'That was so important to get his attention, as he heard that I spoke Japanese when I won in Formula Nippon. Quintarelli on the podium of the opening All-Japan Formula 3 round at Suzuka Circuit in 2003. | Toyota "It was partly because of the results on-track, but an important factor was that Nissan felt I loved Japan and I was making a big effort to be accepted in this country.' Not only did Quintarelli go on to win four GT500 championships for Nissan, he settled down in Japan, marrying his wife, Emi, in 2008, and earning recognition for volunteering with the Italians for Tohoku group in the wake of the devastating 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. All good things must come to an end, and by his own admission, 45-year-old Quintarelli's eventual retirement was accelerated by a sub-par 2024 season. But he signed off on a high note in the Suzuka finale, gaining five positions during his stint before he climbed out of the cockpit of his Nissan Z GT500 for the final time in his illustrious career. 'I felt younger, like I was 10 years (younger),' he reflects. 'I am very strict on myself — if things are going badly, I am the first one to give myself 'zero' out of 10. But this time was by far and away my best stint of the year. ... So I have nothing to regret.'
