Japan's Empress Turned 81, Giving Speech in Public
Japan's empress Michiko turned 81 years old on Tuesday the 20th of October. The empress has spoken to reporters regarding her birthday with answers in writing.
She started her talk with the phrase "This year again, sadly, we heard news of natural disasters so many times, such as volcanic eruptions, floods brought on by heavy rainfall, landslides and tornadoes, striking various parts of Japan." when she thought about what happened in the last 1 year.
It has been 70 years since the war has ended for Japanese. For this matter, she said, "For people living in these peaceful times in Japan, I realize it is not at all an easy task to turn their thoughts to the war days. But I am heartened by the fact that, this year, those around me of the next generation and the generation after that have been visiting various events and exhibits and making the effort to think seriously about war and peace."
The empress has visited the land of Palau together with Emperor Akihito where Pacific Ocean War took place and thw two has been wanted to visit for a long time. "together we were able to pray for the souls of both the Japanese and American war dead on Peleliu Island" and "This has left an unforgettable impression on me." she said.
On her 81st birthday, video of Japanese emperor and empress walking in the morning has been shown to the public. For their health, they are walking for 30 minutes before breakfast every day from 6:30 A.M. In the video, there were scenes where the emperor and empress were walking together enjoying the view of seasonal flowers. According to the imperial household agency, the two also has started jogging slowly from 2 years ago.
In her speech, she touched topics from around the world such as civil war and terrorism which are taking place all around the world and massive movement by immigrants.
While talking about some sad news occurred in a year, she also honored great achievements accomplished by Japanese. "I had the pleasure of receiving the happy news that two Japanese researchers, Dr. Satoshi Omura and Dr. Takaaki Kajita, had been awarded the Nobel Prize." and "In the world of sport, athletes in tennis and wheelchair tennis have achieved impressive results, and the brilliant games played by the Japanese national team at the Rugby World Cup became the focus of attention not only in Japan but around the world. I am looking forward with much hope to the next World Cup, which will be held in Japan in four years." She said.
