TOKYO: Former Japanese Emperor Akihito and former Empress Michiko moved Thursday out of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, where the couple lived for some 26 years.

Lining up along the palace's Inui Street, Imperial Household Agency officials sent the couple off with applause. The couple, in a car, smiled and bowed to them.

At the palace, the families of Emperor Naruhito and Crown Prince Akishino, the couple's first and second sons, respectively, also saw their parents off.

The former Emperor and Empress, now known as Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita, will move to the Takanawa Imperial Residence in Minato Ward on March 31.

Until then, they will stay at the Hayama Imperial Villa in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, and the Imperial Stock Farm in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

The Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita are expected to live in the Takanawa residence for about a year and a half, before renovation work at the Akasaka Imperial Residence in Minato Ward, their next home, is finished.

The Akasaka residence currently houses Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and their only daughter, Princess Aiko. The family is slated to move to the palace, which will also undergo renovation.

JIJI Press