Japanese Crown Princess Kiko Attends Charity Concert

Tokyo, July 20 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Crown Princess Kiko on Monday attended a charity concert aimed at supporting patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, a state-designated intractable disease, and their relatives.

The concert, held at Toppan Hall in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, was hosted by an association of patients partly to help people deepen understanding of the disease.

Princess Kiko was seen wiping tears with a handkerchief after soprano singer Mamiko Sakaida, 47, a patient with the disease, finished singing Japanese singer Mariya Takeuchi's "Inochi no Uta" (Song of Life). The Crown Princess and Sakaida are acquainted with each other.

After the concert, Crown Princess Kiko talked with participants and said, "I had a very moving time."

In May 2025, Crown Princess Kiko visited an event related to intractable diseases at the World Exposition in the western Japan city of Osaka and had an opportunity to talk with Sakaida.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]