Japan Postpones Proclamation Ceremony of Crown Prince Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The proclamation ceremony of Japanese Crown Prince Fumihito, a younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, has been postponed amid the spread of COVID-19 in the country, and the new date is yet to be decided, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday.

"The cabinet has decided to postpone the celebrations of the proclamation of the Crown Prince," Suga told a briefing.

The official added that the cabinet would set a new date later as the situation in the country goes back to normal, but noted that the event would likely take place within a year.

Commenting on the postponement, the Imperial Household Agency said that "in a sense, the ceremony is to celebrate the imperial family, and it is the purpose of the event to be celebrated by all the people," noting that the postponement of the ceremony was in line with the desire of Emperor Naruhito, Prince Fumihito and their wives to be always close with people and share hardships with them.

The ceremony was initially scheduled for April 19.

To date, the number of people confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus in Japan has surpassed 7,740, according to the NHK broadcaster’s data. Tokyo accounts for the biggest number of cases in the country, 2158.