Michiko Empress Of Japan

Empress Michiko, who collapsed and lost her ability to speak on her birthday, will resume full duties Saturday, accompanying her husband, Emperor Akihito, on a tour of Japanese states. But the troubles surrounding the 59-year-old empress haven't ended yet. Her ability to speak still hasn't returned. And a row with the mass media, which found themselves blamed for precipitating her collapse, still hasn't settled down.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have been working hard in their United States visit to pay tribute to the diversity of America. But in Los Angeles, the Japanese royal couple have been encountering even more of it than was scheduled. At City Hall, hundreds of people of Chinese, Korean, Filipino and Vietnamese descent demanded an apology for Japanese war crimes.

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko went to school Tuesday to chat with children who serenaded them in Japanese. On Day 5 of a 16-day U.S. tour, the royal couple visited children in Japanese classes at Great Falls Elementary School in Virginia. "It was something the children will never forget," school Principal Agnes Brown said. It was a simpler, more local view of America than the glittering dinner the couple attended Monday.

Emperor Hirohito and Mickey Mouse, posing side-by-side at Disneyland: The image was perhaps the greatest achievement of the former priest-king's first visit to the United States, in 1975. Although some thought it undignified, the photograph conveyed just how much had changed in 30 years. The implacable enemy had become a friend, and the once awe-inspiring emperor had become the grandfatherly symbol of a country with a democratic constitution and a penchant for American pop culture.

Empress Michiko is not sure whether she will walk behind or ahead of her husband, Emperor Akihito, when the imperial couple visits the United States next month. In fact, she said she had not even thought about the issue until a reporter questioned her at a rare tea for U.S. journalists Friday.

Emperor Hirohito and Mickey Mouse, posing side-by-side at Disneyland: The image was perhaps the greatest achievement of the former priest-king's first visit to the United States, in 1975. Although some thought it undignified, the photograph conveyed just how much had changed in 30 years. The implacable enemy had become a friend, and the once awe-inspiring emperor had become the grandfatherly symbol of a country with a democratic constitution and a penchant for American pop culture.

In a meticulously organized minuet of diplomacy Thursday, Japanese royalty visited the United Nations, where their country aspires to a permanent seat on the Security Council. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who favors Japan's membership on the council, greeted Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at U.N. headquarters. During the visit, there was no discussion of Japan's goal of permanent membership in the most powerful U.N. body, the 15-nation Security Council.

Unfailingly polite and low-key, Emperor Akihito of Japan concentrated on matters artistic Sunday and studiously ignored attempts to draw him into controversies over his country's military history. While Akihito and Empress Michiko viewed works at a gallery that houses one of the world's finest collections of Asian art, a few hundred demonstrators gathered across from the White House to demand that Japan apologize for its actions during World War II.

Japanese Empress Michiko, looking thinner but in good spirits, gave her first public address Wednesday, almost seven months after she was struck by a mystery malady that left her speechless. In an apparent practice run before a hectic U.S. tour next month, Empress Michiko gave a brief speech in Tokyo at the annual convention of the Japanese Red Cross Society, for which she serves as honorary president. Empress Michiko fainted on her 59th birthday Oct.

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were greeted here Saturday with some Southern hospitality, Japanese-style. "My sister in Japan did not believe the emperor was coming here and we were going to see him. Now she really will not believe that I got to shake his hand," said Marie Hall, who left her native Japan 38 years ago after marrying an American. "I just can't believe it," said Toshi Storer, who has lived in South Carolina for 20 years.

In a meticulously organized minuet of diplomacy Thursday, Japanese royalty visited the United Nations, where their country aspires to a permanent seat on the Security Council. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who favors Japan's membership on the council, greeted Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at U.N. headquarters. During the visit, there was no discussion of Japan's goal of permanent membership in the most powerful U.N. body, the 15-nation Security Council.

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko broke from a formal procession at the University of Virginia on Wednesday to greet a small crowd of onlookers, who included many Japanese and Japanese Americans. The royal couple, accompanied by Virginia Gov. George Allen, were in this city of about 40,000 people to visit two of the state's most famous landmarks: Monticello, the home of the third U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson, and the University of Virginia's Rotunda and Lawn.

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko went to school Tuesday to chat with children who serenaded them in Japanese. On Day 5 of a 16-day U.S. tour, the royal couple visited children in Japanese classes at Great Falls Elementary School in Virginia. "It was something the children will never forget," school Principal Agnes Brown said. It was a simpler, more local view of America than the glittering dinner the couple attended Monday.

President Clinton formally welcomed Japanese Emperor Akihito to the White House on Monday, saying that in the half-century since the end of World War II, the two nations have supplanted the "misunderstanding and even ignorance" that divided them with a deep, lasting friendship.

Unfailingly polite and low-key, Emperor Akihito of Japan concentrated on matters artistic Sunday and studiously ignored attempts to draw him into controversies over his country's military history. While Akihito and Empress Michiko viewed works at a gallery that houses one of the world's finest collections of Asian art, a few hundred demonstrators gathered across from the White House to demand that Japan apologize for its actions during World War II.

Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were greeted here Saturday with some Southern hospitality, Japanese-style. "My sister in Japan did not believe the emperor was coming here and we were going to see him. Now she really will not believe that I got to shake his hand," said Marie Hall, who left her native Japan 38 years ago after marrying an American. "I just can't believe it," said Toshi Storer, who has lived in South Carolina for 20 years.

Empress Michiko has partially recovered the power of speech, seven weeks after being struck with a mystery ailment, the Japanese imperial palace said today. According to a Kyodo news agency report, palace officials said Michiko broke her silence last Tuesday, whispering "Heika" (Your Majesty) to Emperor Akihito. After Michiko's collapse in October, she regained consciousness within hours and, apart from being speechless, appeared to have suffered no lasting ill effects.

Japanese Empress Michiko remained unable to speak coherently a day after collapsing on her 59th birthday, but neurological tests showed no abnormalities, palace officials said Thursday night. She was driven in a car to the palace hospital Thursday, sitting up in the back seat with her head slightly bowed. She was admitted for a thorough examination. Michiko collapsed Wednesday morning.

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko paid homage to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on Friday on the first leg of their goodwill tour of the United States. The Japanese royal couple laid a wreath on King's grave at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change and spoke with his widow, Coretta Scott King. Mrs.

Empress Michiko is not sure whether she will walk behind or ahead of her husband, Emperor Akihito, when the imperial couple visits the United States next month. In fact, she said she had not even thought about the issue until a reporter questioned her at a rare tea for U.S. journalists Friday.