Japan Emperor, Empress Visit School for Visually Impaired, Meet with Families of War Dead in Shiga Prefecture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

22:00 JST, September 30, 2025

The Emperor and Empress met with junior high and high school students on Monday at a prefectural school for people with visual impairments in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture.

The Imperial couple watched the students make envelopes using recycled braille newspapers.

“You’ve made quite a lot of envelopes. How do you like the work?” the Emperor asked one of the students, who replied that they enjoy it.

The Emperor and Empress also met with members of a guide dog users group based in the prefecture.

In Kusatsu, they met members of the prefectural chapter of a national organization of families of war dead. With this year marking 80 years since the end of World War II, they asked the latter group about matters including peace-related education.

They returned to Tokyo by Shinkansen on Monday evening.