Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado

His Imperial Highness Prince Takamado passed away on 21 November 2002. He was 47 years old.

In addition to their official duties together, the late Prince promoted international exchange through his work at the Japan Foundation and through his support of various kinds of foreign language speech contests. His Highness readily took on the role of honorary patron of organisations and events which would foster international goodwill. His Highness was active in his support of the various arts, particularly music and dance, and of various different sports. His Highness was also very much involved with environmental issues and education.

Over the years, Their Imperial Highnesses officially visited many countries in response to invitations from foreign governments. Most recently, Their Highnesses officially visited Egypt and Morocco in May 2000 and the Republic of Korea from May to June 2002. The latter was in order to attend the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan and was an important step in the promotion of friendly bilateral relations between Japan and Korea.

Since the passing of His Imperial Highness the late Prince Takamado, Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado has carried on His Imperial Highness' wishes and has continued to make efforts to foster international goodwill. In recent years, from the end of June to the beginning of July 2009 Her Imperial Highness travelled to the Principality of Monaco, where she paid a courtesy call on His Serene Highness Prince Albert II. Her Imperial Highness then travelled on to the French Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In Egypt Her Imperial Highness attended a ground-breaking ceremony for the installation of a monument to His Imperial Highness the late Prince Takamado at the site of the H.I.H. Prince Takamado Visitors' Center. In the United Kingdom Her Imperial Highness took part in some of the celebrations commemorating the 800th anniversary of the establishment of the University of Cambridge.

In June 2010, as Honorary Patron of the Japan Football Association, Her Imperial Highness visited the Republic of South Africa to attend the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, where she offered her support to the Japan national team and watched the football matches. Also in June 2010, Her Imperial Highness paid an official visit to the Republic of Finland, at the invitation of Her Excellency Ms. Tarja Halonen, President of Finland.

In addition to her duties as an Honorary Vice-President of the Japanese Red Cross and other positions that she already held, Her Imperial Highness has now accepted all of the Honorary Patron or Honorary President positions that were held by the late Prince in the hope that she would be able to continue carrying out his wishes. These include the Canada-Japan Society, the Japan Football Association and the Japan Lifeboat Institution.

In March 2004, Her Highness was elected and succeeded Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan as Honorary President of Bird Life International, a global alliance of non-governmental conservation organisations working in more than 100 countries. The Partnership strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards the sustainable use of natural resources.

Within Japan, Her Highness has accepted the roles of Honorary President of the Inamori Foundation and Honorary Patron of the Center for the Promotion of Folk-Performing Arts.

With the establishment of the International Kyudo Federation in May 2006, Her Highness agreed to become its Honorary Chairman.
Her Highness is also the Honorary President of the Prince Takamado Memorial Foundation for Japan-Korea Exchange.

Their Highnesses have three daughters.

H.I.H. Princess Tsuguko celebrated her coming-of-age in March 2006, and having returned to Japan in July 2008 after studying at the University of Edinburgh, she is an undergraduate at Waseda University. Her Highness is attending official functions at the palace and accompanying her mother to some other official events when studies permit.

H.I.H. Princess Noriko celebrated her coming-of-age in July 2008, and graduated from Gakushuin University in 2011. Her Imperial Highness is attending official functions at the palace.

H.I.H. Princess Ayako is an undergraduate at Josai International University.

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