Japan's Royal Family Makes Formal Debut On Instagram

TOKYO (AP) Japans imperial family made an Instagram debut with a barrage of posts on Monday, hoping to shake off their reclusive image and reach out to younger people on social media.

The Imperial Household Agency, a government agency in charge of the familys affairs, posted 60 photos and five videos showing Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masakos public appearances over the past three months.

The agency said they wanted the public to have a better understanding of the familys official duties and that Instagram was chosen because of its popularity among youth.

By Monday evening, their verified account Kunaicho_jp had more than 270,000 followers.

The first photo published was of the imperial couple sitting on a sofa with their 22-year-old daughter Princess Aiko, all smiling as they marked New Years Day.

Other postings also included the Imperial couples meetings with foreign dignitaries, including Brunei Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah his wife.

A video of Naruhito addressing well-wishers during his Feb. 23 birthday celebrations garnered over 21,000 views in less than a day.

So far, the images are limited to the familys official duties and do not include private or candid moments. The agency said it was considering adding activities of other royal members.

Its nice we get to see a bit of their activities because we hardly know what they are doing, said Koki Yoneura, a 21-year-old student. Its good that they seem to be a bit closer to us.

Yukino Yoshiura, also a student, said she was excited to see more posts about Princess Aiko. Aiko-sama is close to our age and just graduated from university, so Im very happy to be able to see her images, she said, using a respectful honorific to refer to the princess.

However, both students said they didnt plan on following the royal familys Instagram account.

The Japanese imperial familys social media debut comes 15 years after Britains royal family joined X, formerly Twitter, in 2009.

I actually assumed they already had one. So I am surprised its just now that they are making one, said Daniela Kuthy, an American student. She said the content seemed very PR-clean, but that wasnt necessarily a negative thing.

Naruhitos father, Emperor Emeritus Akihito who abdicated the throne in 2019 and his wife were popular during their reign. But the royal familys fans largely belong to older generations.

Palace officials had been considering using social media to get more people interested in the family and their activities. Last year, the agency set up a team of experts to study the effects of using social media on the imperial family.

The agency had become cautious after the Emperors niece Mako Komuro and her commoner husband faced a severe backlash on social media and in tabloids following concerns over her mother-in-laws financial situation, causing her marriage to be delayed. She also declined to receive a dowry as the public did not fully celebrate her union.

The former princess said, at the time, she suffered psychological trauma because of the media bashing, including those online.

Experts say social media could help bring the royal family closer to the people and give the agency the ability to control the narrative and respond to disinformation, but concerns over how the worlds oldest monarchy can be friendly without losing its nobility or avoid blowups remain.

The account doesnt follow anyone nor interact with the public. Users cant comment on posts and can only press the like button.

Those who want to send messages to the imperial family have to use the official website.

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Associated Press journalist Ayaka McGill contributed to this report.