Princess hospitalized in 1st COVID case for Japan imperial family

Newswire

Tokyo: Princess Yoko, the younger daughter of the late Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of former Emperor Akihito, complained of a sore throat this week and tested positive for the virus, the Imperial Household Agency said. She was admitted to a hospital inside the Imperial Palace.

Her sister, Princess Akiko, 40, will also be tested. The two met several days ago, the agency said.

Princess Yoko has not attended any gathering involving food and drinks recently, and the infection route remains unknown, the agency added. But she was one of the participants in a ceremony to commemorate a late emperor at the palace on January 30.

No infection has been confirmed among her staff, and none of them has reported feeling sick, according to the agency.

Princess Yoko serves as the head of Tokyo-based social welfare corporation Yuai Jujikai, as well as the honorary president of Japan Universal Sound Design Association, a nonprofit organization that helps people with hearing loss.